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"1
LETTERS OF
THE WORDSWORTH FAMILY
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LETTERS OF THE
WORDSWORTH FAMILY
From 1787 to 1855
3>X
Collected and Edited
BY
WILLIAM KNIGHX- . - : - - : - ' i : \
• J
•*»
IN THREE VOLUMES
VOLUME II
BOSTON AND LONDON
GINN AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
1907
- •
- - •
I I
1 .
p
/ V C'f. I '■ f> '."'X AND
H ^^''^ . L
Entbrbd at Stationbrs' Halx,
Copyright, 1907
By WILLIAM KNIGHT
1 =
• • •
• • •.
• • o
• •• • • • -•
• • • • •
ALL RIGHTS RRSBRVBO
••••
*• c
• ••
•^ w o
'•• o.«
e » • • •
" ^- c t ' • •
" ••••
GINN & COMPANY • PRO-
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A.
J
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
1812
Page
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
CCXLII. Desires Lord L/s influence to secure an office which
might allow considerable time for study i
CCLI. " I shall with pride and pleasure accept annually the sum
offered by your lordship " ; government pensions for literary men 13
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON - .
_, - - .,
CCXLIII. The estrangement from Coleridge VafcaJjdlbris his ^J ". ^^
determination to confront Coleridge and Monia^»». '*. ". . . , 3-.
CCXLV. Meets Coleridge after the estrangement ;'i-. ^t - -• \\
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARlt'SON -^ / ^
CCXLIV. " Regular churchgoers "; Charles and Ms^^j'Lam)) ;^ ^ ^
William's communications to Montagu regarding Cdreridge . . 4
CCXLVII. A walk to Hackett with Samuel Tillbrook .... 10
CCXLIX. Friendly relations with Coleridge restored .... 21
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO THOMAS DE QUINCEY
CCXLVI. Death of Catherine Wordsworth 9
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO THOMAS DE QUINCEY
CCL. Death of Thomas Wordsworth 12
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO DANIEL STUART /
CCXLVIII. Asks information regarding an eligible office . . 11
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO BASIL MONTAGU
CCLI I. The character of his deceased son, Thomas .... 14
vi CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
I813 Pag
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO ELIZABETH THRELKELD
CCLIII. The characteristics of Thomas Wordsworth . . . . i
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. MARSHALL
CCLIV. Tender memories of Thomas . . i
CCLV. Rydal Mount; parting thoughts of Grasmere .... i*
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCLVI. Mr. North's selfishness; "the green graves in our
churchyard"; Coleridge's deceptive self-confidence ; his sons . i;
CCLVIII. The furnishing of Rydal Mount; memories of
Thomas ; ** Next year's plans " 2
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM
CCLVII. The death of his children ; '* my literary employments
• r ?; ^rin^/nenae^;dowments"; political views i<
... . 'WILifAMJijbftDS WORTH TO ROBERT SOUTHEY
. ^^LI^.r;A^W!ant no pensions for our heirs" 2
• • .. •• ••
• • • • - o
bORdttty WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCLX. " Reading of far less use than it used to be " ; Hartley
Coleridge's educational needs 2.
n/'CCLXII. 71kg IVAitg Dog 0/ I^ylstang ; hopes for Coleridge . 2
CCLXIII. William's projected publications ; the deceased chil-
dren; Napoleon's banishment- to Elba 21
v^CLXIX. Hazlitt's review of Tkg Excursion 3,
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
^ , CCLXI. The benefits possible from an armed yeomanry ... 2
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO VISCOUNT LOWTHER
CCLXVIII. A reference to the Bullion Committee's report . . 3
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM
CCLXIV, " Busy with the printer's devils " on TAg Excursion 2
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II vii
Pagb
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO THOMAS POOLE
CCLXV. Hartley Coleridge's education ; present life and labors 28
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SAMUEL ROGERS
CCLXVI. Rogers' poems; ''about to print eight thousand
lines"; an excursion to Scotland 31
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO
CCLXVII. " The errors of the BuUionists" j unfairness of The
Quarterly Review 32
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ROBERT PEARCE GILLIES
\f CCLXX. Yarrow Visited; advice to a poet 34
CCLXXI. G.'s Egbert; "A bad writer, Lord Byron"; Hogg
and The Queen's Wake 36
CCLXXII. The composition of poetry ; " your Exile "; Hogg ;
"high respect for Scott's talents and attainments." 38
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCLXXIII. Patty Smith's criticism of The Excursion ... 40
I814.?
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO
CCLXXrV. The Quarterly's review of The Excursion .... 44
CCLXXV. " A crushing revievf " of The Excursion ; the recep-
tion of the poem 45
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO
CCLXXVI. A postscript to Letter CCLXXV 47
1815
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT
CCLXXVII. Reasons for dedicating the new Poems .... 48
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO THOMAS DE QUINCEY
CCLXXVIII. An added stanza to Laodamia 49
• • •
Vlll CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
Page
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO R. P. GILLIES
CCLXXIX. The new edition of Poems ; Beattie contrasted
with Hogg ; suggests a poetic story of the Highlands ; Lucien
/Bonaparte's Charlemagne 50
CCLXXXII. Guy Mannering and Waverley 57
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO THOMAS POOLE
CCLXXX. Provisions for the support of Hartley Coleridge at
Oxford ; " the importance I attach to the Madras system " . . 52
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCLXXX I. Opinions on The Excursion from James Mont-
gomery and " the ingenuous poet " of Derby 55
CCLXXXVI. The Duke of Devonshire's interest in The Excur-
sion ; Ha^litt's review 61
CCLXXXIX. A memory of first entrance to Grasmere ; mak-
ing a final settlement with Richard Wordsworth 64
CCXC. A journey with William to Sockbridge 66
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO BASIL MONTAGU
CCLXXXIII. Regarding the financial obligations of his brother
Richard to Dorothy and himself 58
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN SCOTT
CCLXXXIV. The character of the French people 60
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCLXXXV. Waterloo and the abdication of Napoleon ... 60
CCLXXX VII. An obituary notice for Mr. Luff of Patterdale . 62
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO BENJAMIN ROBERT HAYDON
CCLXXXVIII. Canova and the Elgin Marbles ; three sonnets 63
1816
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM
CCXCI. His epistolary defects; Virgil's Eclogues; The White
Doe ; his children 67
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II ix
Page
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN SCOTT
CCXCII. Your Paris Revisited in constant use ; character of
the Duke of Wellington ; " the calamities of these times "; duty
of an English Opposition ; a word on Spanish affairs .... 69
CCXCIII. Declines a suggested work; The Convention of
Cintra ; "in nothing are xa^ principles changed" 72
CCXCIV. Now able to comply with S.*s request; the Thanks-
giving Ode ; upon S.*s writings; the field of English prose . . 74
CCXCV. Invites criticism upon MSS. ; Henry Brougham . . 76
CCXCIX. The merits of the Opposition; **one word upon
Lord B."; "the Billingsgate of Bedlam" 81
CCCI. The need of military establishments 84
CCCIII. Richard Wordsworth's estate ; advice regarding the
disposition of The Champion ; the connections between genius
and irregularity of conduct ; " a word upon politics " 86
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCXCVI. A description of the Wordsworth children .... 78
CCCII. Sara Coleridge and Edith Southey 85
CCCV. The small sales of Wordsworth's poetry 93
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO R. P. GILLIES
CCXCVII. Sonnets in The Examiner and The Champion ; the
Thanksgiving Ode 79
CCXCVIII. Gray's poetry; a message to John Wilson ... 80
CCCVI. A hint on versification 94
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ROBERT SOUTHEY
CCC. The death of S.'s son Herbert 83
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCC IV. A visit from Mr. Cargill; traveling directions to
Rydal Mount ; his recent verse ; the present ministry .... 90
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO
CCCVII. The spontaneousness of his poetry 95
X CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
I817 Page
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO DANIEL STUART
CCC VIII. *' I am an alarmist ** ; the disintegration of the har-
monious dependence between the various classes of society . . 96
CCCXI. Commends the recent purchase of an estate by S. ;
questions for a cabinet minister 100
CCCXV. The proper education for a lawyer 105
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCCIX. William oppressed by "cares which have fallen upon
him through mismanagement"; the settlement of Richard
Wordsworth's affairs ; William Smith's attack on Southey . . 97
CCCXVI. Derwent Coleridge going to his father 107
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SAMUEL ROGERS
CCCX. Requests a favor for Thomas Monkhouse; inquires
about mutual friends ; a subscriber to Bernard Barton's poems 98
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCXII. Dr. Chalmers; Fumess Abbey; Southey's letter re-
plying to William Smith's attack 102
CCC XIII. Has not seen any new thing except a bust of himself 104
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. MARSHALL
CCCXIV, A view from the top of Helvellyn 105
CCCXVII. Sir George and Lady Beaumont returned from Hal-
stead ; the Wilberforces 107
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO R. P. GILLIES
CCCXVIII. A criticism of G.'s writings 108
1818
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
CCCXIX. Moral reflections upon success no
CCC XX. Large estates as a counterbalance to democratic com-
mercial activities no
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
CCCXXI. ** King and constitution " in preference to ** churc.
and king "
CCCXXII. Two letters signed "A Friend to Truth"; "the
propriety of precautionary measures for augmenting the num-
bers of trustworthy freeholders " 1 1 1
CCCXXIV. "The rural stamina of this outbreak" . . . .113
CCCXXVI. His object in writing Two Addresses to the Free-
holders in Westmoreland , 115
CCCXXVIII. "The feudal power yet surviving is eminently
serviceable** 116
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO THOMAS MONKHOUSE
CCCXXIII'. "A little sound good-government doctrine*' ; the
approaching elections 112
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO DANIEL STUART
CCCXXV. The age at which to send a son to college; relative
advantages of large and small colleges .114
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO
CCCXXVII. Attacks on private character unjustifiable in polit-
ical campaigns 115'
CCCXXIX. The division of freehold estates to increase voters 116
1819
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCCXXX. Betty Yewdale ; a visit from Mrs. Coleridge, Sara
Coleridge, and Edith Southey; Hartley and Derwent Coleridge 117
CCCXXX V. The charm of Rydal Mount for children . . .127
CCCXXXVI. The Coleridge children 127
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
CCCXXXI. His nomination as a Commissioner of the Peace 118
CCCXXXII. At work upon a translation of the /Eneid ; the
metrical requirements of such work ; Dryden*s Virgil . .119
CCCXXX I II. Further reference to the translation of the ^neid 1 23
xii CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
Pagb
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM
CCCXXXIV. Rogers* Human Life ; Blackwood's Magazine;
Lord Lonsdale; W.*s VirgiVs Eclogues ; "my reading powers" 124
CCCXXXVII. A saying of Dr. Johnson's ; " my writing desk
a place of punishment"; his reading and library; "bulky old
commentaries on the Scriptures " 1 27
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
CCCXXXVIII. Relief for the Stephens orphans at Sedburgh ;
an impression of Liverpool 129
1820
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO VISCOUNT LOWTHER
CCCXXXIX. Requests advice regarding an investment . . .130
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN WlLSONi
/CCCXL. A testimonial to W.*s qualifications for the chair of
\/ moral philosophy at Edinburgh -131
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
> CCCXLI. A projected tour in Ireland ; sights in Scotland . . 132
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCXLII. Her itinerary in Switzerland 134
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCCXLIII. A fate day in Milan ; the cathedral 135
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
CCCXLIV. A note to Miss Rogers ; "my nephew William" . 136
182I
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT
CCCXLV. The burial of John Myers; "Long Meg and her
daughters ";" a word about Coleorton " 137
1 Christopher North.
N
• • •
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II xiil
Page
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCCXLVI. A game at " speculation " ; Christopher and Charles
Wordsworth 140
CCCL. T\\QEccUsiasticalSonnets;SoMihQy*s Vision of Judgment 146
CCCLIII. Her own and Mary Wordsworth's journals . . . .150
«
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCXLVIL Southey*s Fw«w ^y«<^OT^»/ ; greetings to friends 141
CCCXLIX. John Scott*s death; Barry Cornwall's Mirandola ;
"frog poets, mice poets, and fly poets" ; John Moultrie's verses 143
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
CCCXLVIII. " Ornament engrafted upon infirmity " ; a visit
from Sou they; messages to friends 142
CCCLVI. Dr. Holland, the Albanian traveler ; Colonel and
Mrs. Holmes ; a postscript by Mary Wordsworth 154
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO VISCOUNT LOWTHER
CCCLI. The Catholic question ; Canning's speech 147
CCCLII. The debates on the Catholic question 149
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SIR WALTER SCOTT
CCCLI V. Introducing H. Crabb Robinson 151
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR
CCCLV. Acknowledges a gift of L.'s Idyllia Heroica; objec-
tions to the use of Latin for modern works 152
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO FRANCIS CHANTREY
CCCLVII. Ordering casts of C.'s bust ; Mr. Carruthers . . .157
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCLVI II. Requests advice for Strickland Cookson ; the
Quillinans ; the death of John Lamb ; the Elegiac Stanzas on
the death of F. W. Goddard . 158
CCCLXII. The Lambs ; Coleridge's article in Blackwood^s . .166
xiv CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
Pagb
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
CCCLIX. The modification of his views on the subject of
government; his political principles defined 162
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM
CCCLX. On efforts to distribute copies of the Scriptures . .164
MARY WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
CCCLXI. Felicitations upon his engagement to marry; Words-
worth writing the Memorials of a Tour on the Continent . . .165
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO
CCCLXIII. " My determination has been to have no connection
with any periodical publication'' 167
1822
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO
CCCLXIV. A message to Gifford ; " that infamous publication,
Don Juan'' 168
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCCLXV. The Memorials of a Tour on the Continent ... 169
CCCLXXVI. A parody by Wordsworth and Sarah Hutchinson 189
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCLXVI. Appreciation of R.*s letter ; the Lambs; Sergeant
Rough; <^the tour poems"; neighborhood happenings; a
magazine article by Hartley Coleridge 169
CCCLXX. Mr. Monkhouse; the Memorials ; a review in the
Literary Gazette; Christopher Wordsworth ; Miss Hutchinson
" a determined French scholar '' 181
CCCLXXVIII. Desires further account of R.'s travels in
Switzerland; a sonnet on Moscow .192
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO RICHARD SHARP
CCCLX VII. The Memorials and Ecclesiastical Sketches ; the
Guide to the Lakes 175
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II xv
Pagb
CCCLXXV. His lack of confidence in the French funds;
ogers' advice regarding Dorothy's Journal i88
CCCLXXVII. Dorothy's journey in Scotland ; the investment
in the French funds 191
CCCLXXIX. Submits his investment to S.'s discretion . . . 196
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO VISCOUNT LOWTHER
CCCLXVIII. Recommending T. Hutchinson as a land agent . 177
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO W. S. LANDOR
CCCLXIX. Mr. Quillinan ; Latin poetry ; L.'s Sponsalia and
Sitnanidea ; an apology for sonnet writing 179
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ALLAN CUNNINGHAM
CCCLXXI. Chantrey's bust ; C.'s writings 184
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. MARSHALL
CCCLXXII. A serious accident to William 185
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM PEARSON
CCCLXXIII. Travels in the vale of Nith 185
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SAMUEL ROGERS
CCCLXXIV. Requests his assistance in finding a publisher for
Dorothy's y<wr«fl/ 187
MARY WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KEN YON
CCCLXXX. Acknowledging a present of a cask of sugar . . 197
1823
^ DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO SAMUEL ROGERS
CCCLXXXI. Discussing the terms upon which she should offer
\^^x Journal to a publisher 199
CCCLXXXIII. Thanks for R.'s courtesies; the memorial to
Aloys Reding 202
MARY WORDSWORTH TO LADY BEAUMONT
CCCLXXXII. Inclosing a poem ; the Coleridges ; a new chapel 201
Vcc(
V
xvi CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
Pagb
MARY WORDSWORTH TO EDWARD QUILLINAN
CCCLXXXIV. An appointment for a visit to the Q.'s .... 203
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ALLAN CUNNINGHAM
CCCLXXXV. Acknowledging a medallion of Scott .... 204
CCCLXXXVIII. Biists of Scott and Southey ; hopes Chantrey
will undertake both Southey and Coleridge ; reasons for expect-
ing the spread of his poetry ; Scotch and English Border poets 207
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
CCCLXXXVI. Starting upon a tour in Flanders and Holland ;
a visit at Lee Priory 204
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCCLXXXVII. A day ride with William from Lowther Castle 207
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO HENRY TAYLOR
CCCLXXXIX. Byron's indebtedness to other poets; **one
impudent instance of his thefts''; parallelisms 211
1824
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO W. S. LANDOR
CCCXC. Replies to criticism of Laodamia ; the political situa-
tion; Southey and his family ; Dante; the Hares . . .-. .214
CCCCI. " To thank you for your admirable Dialogues "... 235
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JAMES MONTGOMERY
CCCXCI. Can only write verse from an inward impulse . . .217
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCXCIL A call upon R.'s brother; "Mrs. Luff's living stock" 217
CCCXCIX. Two sonnets upon infants ; messages for Lamb . 231
CCCCII. " Poor Monkhouse's hopeless state " ; affairs at Rydal
Mount and at Keswick ; John home from Oxford 236
CCCCIII. A visit to Cambridge 239
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO LADY BEAUMONT
CCCXCIII. A visit to Borrowdale with William and Mrs. Luff;
Sara Coleridge ; Southey 218
• •
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II xvii
Page
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT
CCCXCIV. A three weeks' ramble in North Wales with
Mrs. Wordsworth and Dora 220
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
CCCXC V. Wordsworth and Mary still traveling ; " my nephew
William "; Hartley Coleridge's school 225
CCCXC VIII. The travelers returned ; " our friends at Kes-
wick " ; Hartley Coleridge as schoolmaster 230
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ALARIC WATTS
CCCXC VI. Comment upon a volume of W.'s poetry ; ** a cri-
tique upon my poetical character " 227
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
CCCXCVII. Sends two books of his translation of the j^lneid 229
MARY WORDSWORTH TO LADY BEAUMONT
CCCC. The purchase of Dora's field ; hopes that John may
take orders 232
1825
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO J. FLETCHER
CCCCIV. The scenery of North Wales 240
CCCC VII. The Dutch school of painting ; F.'s writings . . . 244
CCCCIX. Praises F.'s tragedies; other writings of F.; "your
meaning upon the picturesque" 248
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SAMUEL ROGERS
CCCC V. A ramble through North Wales ; Southey's attitude
toward Lord Byron ; Lord B. and his Boswell 242
CCCCVL A possible arrangement of his miscellaneous poems 243
CCCCVIII. ** Authors above booksellers " ; Murray and Long-
mans as publbhers ; arrangement of the forthcoming collected
edition of Poems 246
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCCX. The death of Monkhouse ; his estate ; the new edition
of Wordsworth's Poems 251
xviii CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
Page
CCCCXV. Wordsworth considering a change of publisher;
plans for future travel abroad ; Charles Lamb ; Mimoires of
Mme. de Genlis 260
CCCCXXII. Desires information on Mary Lamb*s illness; a
bargain made with Hurst for the new edition of Poems . . 269
CCCCXXIII. Messages from Wordsworth ; a visit at Coleor-
ton by William, Mary, and Sarah Hutchinson ; Miss Jewsbury ;
longings for travel 271
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
CCCCXI. " An unusual event, a letter from Coleridge " ; Sara
Coleridge's translation of Bayard's life 254
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT
CCCCXII. Comments upon the marriage of Sir G.'s son;
*'your kind offer of assistance" ; "the religion of gratitude" 256
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
CCCCXIII. Comment upon the Parliamentary situation on
the Catholic question 258
CCCCXIV. Mr. Brougham's arguments for the founding of
London University 259
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ALARIC WATTS
CCCCXVL Discusses a proposed publisher's contract; Miss
Jewsbury's Phantasmagoria . 264
CCCCXVII. " I do not wish to dispose of my copyright " . . 265
CCCCXVIII. Negotiations with Longmans . 265
CCCCXIX. Introducing Mr. Quillinan ; net profits from poems 266
CCCCXXI. Further negotiations with Longmans 268
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM PEARSON
CCCCXX. A possible elegiac poem 267
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. MARSHALL
CCCCXXIV. Rumors of being obliged to quit Rydal Mount 275
MARY WORDSWORTH TO ALARIC WATTS
CCCCXXV. Requests information as to the status of negotia-
tions with Hurst 276
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II xix
1826 p^^.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO
CCCCXXVI. Refusing his permission to sue for Dora*s hand 278
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ALARIC WATTS
CCCCXXVII. " My cordial thanks for the care you have taken
of my interests " 279
CCCCXXXV. Regarding contributions for W.*s Souvenir . , 291
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCCXXVIII. Returns thanks to Mrs. Collier for the memo-
rials of her tour; a young friend's journal; Miss Jewsbury;
the new edition of Poems delayed by Hurst's insolvency . . . 280
CCCCXL. R.'s travels in Ireland; Daniel O'Connell; John
graduates from Oxford ; the war ; the Lambs ; the new edition 297
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCCXXXI. On the arrangement and classification of poems 284
CCCCXXXII. Changes in classification of poems 285
CCCCXXXIII. An account of his negotiations for the publica-
tion of the new edition ; " one word on the subject of arrange-
ment"; suggestions for travel 285
CCCCXXXIV. Further instructions regarding the new edition ;
bankruptcy of Mrs. Wordsworth's brother 289
CCCCXXXVI. Travel directions for a tour of Wales and Ireland 291
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM PEARSON
CCCCXXIX. Requesting a copy of a sonnet 283
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM PEARSON
CCCCXXX. Returning thanks for a book 283
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO THOMAS DE QUINCEY
CCCCXXXVII. "Good tidings respecting Mrs. De Q. and
your family " ; De Q.'s employment ; Dora's illness .... 293
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO T. TAYLOR
CCCCXXXVIII. An expression of sympathy for misfortune 2^
XX CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
Page
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO EDWARD MOXON
CCCCXXXIX. Complimentary comment on M.'s poems . . 296
1827
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCCXLI. Requests his support for John Kenyon's admis-
sion to the Athenaeum Club; Longman undertakes the new
edition of Poems ; News of Christopher Wordsworth .... 300
CCCCXLIII. Dora Wordsworth*s illness; a letter from Lamb 303
CCCCXLIV. Acknowledges R.*s courtesy to Kenyon; John
studying divinity; death of Sir George Beaumont 304
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCCXLII. An account of his previous negotiations with John
Murray 302
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO BASIL MONTAGU
CCCCXLV. Acknowledges receipt of M.'s edition of Byron . 306
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO J. FLETCHER
CCCCXLVI. Mountain scenery of Europe ; " La belle France " 307
MARY WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
CCCCXLVIL Good news from " Idle Mount " ; about to travel
with Dora ; visits to the Southeys ; Christopher Wordsworth's
sons ; the bishop of Chester a neighbor 308
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON
CCCCXLVIII. A criticism of H.*s poetry; Miss H.'s verse . 312
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
CCCCXLIX. His opposition to the Reform Bill 314
CCCCL. An American article upon the Reform Bill . . . .315
CCCCLL The defects of the amended Reform Bill 316
WILLIAM TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH
CCCCLII. An invitation to Brinsop Court ; a postscript to his
nephew Christopher 317
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II xxi
1828 P^^B
WILLIAM TO MARY AND DORA WORDSWORTH
CCCCLIII. Suggestions as to their visits ; contributions to The
Keepsake; some recent verses; \to Dora\ his attitude toward
Mr. Quillinan's proposal ; '* my blessing upon you and him " .319
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ALLAN CUNNINGHAM
CCCCLIV. Ordering casts of Chantrey*s bust ; a proposed
volume of selections 323
CCCCLVI. Regarding contributions to public journals and
"Annuals" 325
CCCCLVII. The remuneration for contributions to "Annuals" 326
CCCCLX. Comments on the proposed selections ; inability to
contribute to the " Annual " ; an alteration for Simon Lee . . 329
CCCCLXVIII. Ordering a bust for Barron Field 352
CCCCLXXII. The reasons preventing a contribution to C.*s
♦* Annual" 356
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN TAYLOR
CCCCLV. Replying to T.'s exhortation urging a tribute to the
memory of Sir George Beaumont 324
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM PEARSON
CCCCLVIII. Hopes to ascend Helvellyn with P.; requests him
to bring her /ourna/ of the Scotch tour 327
CCCCLIX. An appointment for climbing Helvellyn .... 328
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCCLXI. The Pyrenees ; plans for his son William ; a
cordial invitation 330
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCCLXII. Desires " a letter of chit-chat " ; her hopes of
foreign travel . 332
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO BENJAMIN DOCKRAY
CCCCLXIII. The danger of concession upon the Catholic
question 335
XXli CONTENTS OF VOLUME H
Pagb
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO HUGH JAMES ROSE
CCCCLXIV. Views on the subject of edacatioii 537
CCCCLXV. Fnither mhiiitfa oo the subject of edacatioii . . 340
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO F. MANSEL REYNOLDS
CCCCLXVL R^;ardmg contiibation to The Keefsait ; •^a
scrape with Alaiic Watts " 349
WILLIAM WORDSWORTh TO BARRON FIELD
CCCCLXVII. Tht Triad; the history of an epitaph ; desires
a story for ** a short India piece " 351
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. MARSHALL
CCCCLXIX. The living of Moresby bestowed upon John
Wordsworth by Lord Lonsdale; his ordination ...... 353
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ABRAHAM HAYWARD
CCCCLXX. " literature considered merely as a creation of art ** 354
WILLIAM TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH
CCCCLXXL His toor on the Rhine and in the Netherlands ;
the education of his son William 355
1829
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ALEXANDER DYCE
CCCCLXXIII. The forgeries in Bell's edition of Collins;
Dyer ; Thomson 358
CCCCXCV. Acknowledging a gift of D.*s edition of Peele's
works ; D's Specimens from the British Poetesses ; " my intended
edition of a portion of Thomson " 392
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO BARRON FIELD
CCCCLXXIV. Regarding material for poems 359
CCCCLXXXVL His pleasure at F.*s transfer to Gibraltar . 381
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO
CCCCLXXV. Pleased with a drawing by Edmund Field . . 360
CCCCLXXVIIL "More work and less pay" 365
• • •
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II xxill
Page
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOSEPH COTTLE
CCCCLXXVI. Reply to a request for verses; The Malvern
Hills; the Southeys ; Coleridge and his son Hartley 360
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCCLXXVII. The death of two school-fellows ; a legacy
for Mrs. Wordsworth and its investment in insurance ; John
Wilson's writings ; Southey's Sir Thomas More 362
CCCCLXXXI. His desire to see Norway; discusses an invest-
ment ; Dorothy's illness ; John Thomas Smith 369
CCCCLXXXIV. An investment; an opinion upon American
securities 377
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO E. H. BARKER
^^CCCCLXXIX. Ossian*s Poems ; his debt to Macpherson . . 365
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO AN ENGLISH PRELATE
CCCCLXXX. The wretched condition of Ireland ; its causes . 366
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
CCCCLXXXII. Interest in R.'s journey to the Pyrenees;
young Christopher Wordsworth's honors at college ; good ac-
counts from Rydal 372
CCCCLXXXIII. Her recent illness; her nephew William . . 375
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT 1
CCCCLXXXV. Upon the death of his friend, Lady Beaumont 379
CCCCXCVI. Delayed in a proposed visit to Coleorton . . . 393
I WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO W. ROWAN HAMILTON
I CCCCLXXXVII. Desires information for a tour in Ireland;
! H.'s verses and those of Miss Hamilton . . . . - 381
CCCCLXXXIX. Accepting an offer of hospitality 384
CCCCXC. Plans for his tour in Ireland 385
CCCCXCVIIL Criticism of verses of Sir W. and Miss Hamilton 397
1 Son of the artist.
xxiv CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
Pagb
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO GEORGE HUNTLY GORDON
CCCCLXXXVIII. His dependence upon travel; bad treat-
ment by the editor of an "Annual'' 383
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO HENRY ROBINSON
CCCCXCI. Desires particulars of a proposal for investment . 386
WILLIAM TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH
CCCCXCII. An account of his tour in Ireland 386
CCCCXCIV. A trip to Killamey 390
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. MARSHALL
CCCCXCIII. Sara Coleridge's marriage ; Derwent's curacy . 389
DORA WORDSWORTH TO EDWARD QUILLINAN
CCCCXCVII. **A history of our proceedings since you left
us " ; a visit from Hartley Coleridge 394
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO FRANCIS BEAUFORT
EDGEWORTH
CCCCXCIX. The ruins of Askeaton Abbey; Killamey . . . 401
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO CATHERINE GRACE GODWIN
D. An acknowledgment of Mrs. G.'s poems with criticisms . 402
1830
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO CHARLES LAMB
DI. " I liked your play marvelously " ; " Hone's book was very
r* yf"^ acceptable " ; a postscript by Dorothy 405
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
DII. ** One point of prime importance in this crisis " .... 407
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM PEARSON
Dili. Interested by information gathered from the gypsies . . 407
DXII. " Mr. Coleridge's new work " ; The Hedgehog .... 425
DXVIII. " We should be glad to see you at any time "... 434
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II xxv
Page
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO BASIL MONTAGU
DIV. Conveying thanks for books and commending M.*s edi-
tion of Bacon 408
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN GARDNER
DV. The Paris pirated edition of his Poems ; his attitude toward
a cheaper English edition 409
DXIV. Discussion of a cheap edition ; the copyright laws . . 429
DXIX. Desires a pair of spectacles purchased 435
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO G. HUNTLY GORDON
DVI. «* Delicious summer weather " ; Edward Quillinan ; "drain-
ing a bit of spongy ground " 410
BXI. Comments upon the revolutionary crisis in France . . . 424
DXXV. The political situation in France 442
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
DVII. "A sober review of the autumn and winter"; John*s
life at Moresby ; " enacting the invalid " ; William as active as
in 1820; the Coleridges ; young William at Bremen . . . .411
WILLIAM TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH
DVIII. Positive instruction much overrated; "the education
oiduty'* 416
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO MRS. CLARKSON
DIX. William " as good a walker as young ones of twenty " ;
Mrs. Coleridge living with Derwent ; " Hartley's hopeless state '* 417
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ALEXANDER DYCE
DX. The poetic genius of England in her drama ; The Excur-
sion; a word about Collins ; *< British poetesses'' ; the poems of
Lady Winchelsea 419
DXIII. A few additional words on British poetesses .... 426
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO EDWARD MOXON
DXV. Requests information as to the advisability of a cheap
edition of the Poems 432
A
xxvi CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
Pagb
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SIR WALTER SCOTT
DXVI. A criticism of Peveril by a descendant of one of its
characters 432
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO W. ROWAN HAMILTON
DXVII. An invitation ; a message to Mr. Edgeworth .... 434
DXX. The hospitality of the Lake district 436
DXXI. Professor Wilson at EUeray ; the death of Hazlitt . . 436
DXXIV. A journey to Cambridge on horseback ; intellectual
activities there ; the Tennyson brothers 440
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO EDWIN HILL HANDLEY
DXXII. Criticisms upon certain verses of Mr. H 437
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN ABRAHAM HERAUD
DXXIII. " I am not a critic " ; comments upon a poem . . . 439
183I
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO W. ROWAN HAMILTON
DXX VI. An article on the decay of science in England ; Cole-
ridge's broken condition . 443
XXX. Cambridge professors and politics ; Dr. Hine's Selections 446
DXLIII. The eagle's note; "something of Sir Walter";
Yarrow Revisited 466
DXLV. The composition of verse ; Shakespeare's sonnets ;
one word upon reform in Parliament " 470
«
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO HENRY TAYLOR
DXXVII. Dr. Arnold and his family sojourning near by . . . 444
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT
DXXVIII. Congratulations on the birth of a second son . . 444
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO EDWARD MOXON
DXXIX. A volume of selections; Leigh Hunt "a coxcomb" 445
DXXXIV. His aversion to appearing in periodicals 450
V
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II xxvii
Pagb
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO THE ROWAN HAMILTONS
DXXXI. St. John's College requests Wordsworth to sit for a
portrait ; her dislike of Haydon's sketch 446
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO B. R. HAYDON
DXXXII. A sonnet *< piping hot from the brain " ; a caricature
of Brougham ; Napoleon ; the ** reformers '* in England . . . 447
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO SIR WALTER SCOTT
DXXXIII. John Wordsworth's engagement to Miss Curwen 449
DXXXVII. Announcing Charles Wordsworth's approaching
visit to Abbotsford ^ 457
DOROTHY'WORDSWORTH to MRS. CLARKSON
DXXXV. Wilkins' portrait of Wordsworth; a visit to Belle
Isle; William, Dora, and Charles Wordsworth to visit Scott;
an appointment for young William; Robert Jones; the Till-
brooks ; Thomas Wilkinson 450
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
DXXXVT. William and Mary Howitt ; going to Abbotsford ; a
brilliant summer ; " a serious stanza or two " 454
DLL Promises a visit; dining with an earl and a prince; "I
congratulate you on being ^//radicalized " 481
SARAH HUTCHINSON TO EDWARD QUILLINAN
DXXXVIII. The Wordsworths' tour in Scotland ; family news 457
JOHNi TO DORA WORDSWORTH
DXXXIX. His " visit to the other hemisphere " delayed ; plans
to visit Rydal Mount ; comment on the political situation . . 459
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM PEARSON
DXL. A new horse ; the visit to Abbotsford 461
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO BASIL MONTAGU
DXLI. M.'s edition of Bacon ; on capital punishment ; " the
odium attached to Bacon's name "; ^*1 am as much Peter Bell
as ever " 463
1 Son of Christopher Wordsworth.
««7*»
xxviii CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
Pagb
DXLIX. A gloomy outlook on public affairs; the education
needed ..... 479
DORA WORDSWORTH TO MISS HAMILTON
DXLII. Her tour in the Highlands; Wordsworth depressed
by the evil which he foresees from the Reform Bill 464
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LADY FREDERICK BENTINCK
DLXI V. " My late ramble in Scotland " ; " as to public affairs I
have no hope but in the goodness of Almighty God " . . . . 468
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
DXLVI. Hopes for a visit from R.; "the dreadful results of
sudden and rash changes " ; the Reform Bill ; news of the family 47 1
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO J. K. MILLER
DXLVII. " I am opposed to the spirit you justly characterize
as revolutionary " ; the question is one of piety and morals . 475
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO
DXL.W111, A list of grrata; nine's Sf/ecfions 478
WILLIAM TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH
DL. " Moving about a good deal*'; Mr. Rose ; Laodamia . . 480
1832
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN KENYON
DLII. A collection of Hogarth ; the poems of Baillie . . . 483
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LORD LONSDALE
DLIII. Opinion on Lord Holland's proposal for compromise 485
DLIV. Discusses the political situation and the Reform bill 488
DLVI. His translation from the yEneid 494
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO THE EDITOR OF
THE PHILOLOGICAL MUSEUM
DLV. On request sends specimen of translation from the yEtutd 494
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO HENRY TAYLOR
DLVI I. Sees principles sacrificed daily in public affairs . . . 495
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II xxix
Page
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO ALARIC WATTS
DLVIII. A copy of The Souvenir for 1832; "a sonnet for
your next volume " 496
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO JOHN GARDNER
DLIX. New edition of Poems to be four volumes 497
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO W. ROWAN HAMILTON
DLX. Dorothy's illness ; the bourse of public affairs ; " my
heart is full " ; a visit from Landor 497
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO H. CRABB ROBINSON
DLXI. Collection of pictures in his neighborhood ; Landor's
visit; climbing Helvellyn 499
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO EDWARD MOXON
DLXII. PickersgilPs portrait of Wordsworth 501
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO THOMAS ARNOLD
BLXIII. Dr. A. purchases the Fox How estate 502
DORA WORDSWORTH TO MRS. LAWRENCE
/^LXIV. The death of Scott ; the Pickersgill portrait . . .502
DORA WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM PEARSON
DLXV. In Dorothy's sick chamber ; a visit to Ullswater ;
Hartley Coleridge 504
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO LADY FREDERICK BENTINCK
DLXVI. Much troubled by the state of public affairs . . . 506
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO MRS. HEMANS
DLXVII. Acknowledges a g^t for Dora ; Miss Jewsbury . . 507
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH TO WILLIAM PEARSON
DLXVII I. Advice as to travel on the continent 509
/
LETTERS OF
THE WORDSWORTH FAMILY
l8l2
CCXLII
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Grasmere, Feb. 6, 1812.
... I need scarcely say. that literature has been the
pursuit of my life ; a life-pursuit, chosen (as I believe are
those of most men distinguished by any particular fea-
tures of character) partly from passionate liking, and
partly from calculations of the judgment ; and in some
small degree from circumstances in which my youth was
placed, that threw great difficulties in the way of my
adopting that profession to which I was most inclined, and
for which I was perhaps best qualified. I long hoped,
depending upon my moderate desires, that the profits of
my literary labours, added to the little which I possessed,
would have answered all the rational wants of myself and
my family. But in this I have been disappointed, and
for these causes : firstly, the unexpected pressure of the
times, falling most heavily upon men who have no regu-
lar means of increasing their income in proportion ; sec-
ondly, I had erroneously calculated upon the degree in
2 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
which my writings were likely to suit the taste of the
times; and lastly, much the most important part of my
efforts cannot meet the public eye for many years, from
the comprehensiveness of the subject. I may also add
(but it is scarcely worth while) a fourth reason, viz. : an
utter inability on my part to associate with any class or
body of literary men, and thus subject myself to the
necessity of sacrificing my own judgment, and of lending
even indirectly countenance or support to principles, —
either of taste, politics, morals, or religion — which I dis-
approve; and your lordship is not ignorant that, except
writers engaged in mere drudgery, there are scarcely any
authors, but those associated in this manner, who find
literature, at this day, an employment attended with
pecuniary gain.
The statement of these facts has been made, as your
lordship will probably have anticipated, in order that if
any office should be at your disposal (the duties of which
would not call so largely upon my exertions as to prevent
me from giving a considerable portion of time to study),
it might be in your lordship's power to place me in a sit-
uation where, with better hope of success, I might advance
towards the main object of my life, I mean the completion
of my literary undertakings ; and thereby contribute to
the innocent gratification, and perhaps the solid benefit of
many of my countrymen.
I have been emboldened to make this statement from
a remembrance that my family has for several generations
been honoured by the regard of that of your lordship,
and that, in particular, my father and grandfather did,
conscientiously I believe, discharge such trusts as were
reposed in them from that connection.
TO MRS. CLARKSON 3
CCXLIII
William Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Grosvenor Square, Tuesday, May 6th.
^y dear Friend,
... I came to Town with a determination to confront
Coleridge and Montagu upon this vile business. But
Doleridge is most averse to it ; and from the difficulty of
)rociu:ing a fit person to act as referee in such a case,
md from the hostility which M. and C. feel towards each
)ther, I have yielded to C.'s wish, being persuaded that
much more harm than good would accrue from the inter-
\aew. I have not seen C, nor written to him. Lamb has
been the medium of communication between us. C.
intimated to me by a letter addressed to Lamb that he
would transmit to me a statement, begun some time ago,
in order to be sent to Miss Hutchinson, but discontinued
on account of his having heard that she had "already
dtcided against him." A very delicate proposal! Upon
this I told Lamb that I should feel somewhat degraded
by consenting to read a paper, begun with such an inten-
tion and discontinued upon such a consideration. Why
talk about " deciding " in the case ? Why, if in this deci-
sion she had judged amiss, not send the paper to rectify her
error ? or why draw out a paper at all whose object it was
to win from the sister of my wife an opinion in his favour,
and therefore to my prejudice, upon a charge of injuries^
grievous injuries, done by me to him; before he had openly
preferred his complaint to myself, the supposed author of
these injuries ? All this is unmanly, to say the least of it.
Upon coming home yesterday I found, however, a letter
from him, a long one, written apparently and sent before
4 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
he could learn my mind from Lamb upon this proposal.
The letter I have not opened ; but I have just written to
Lamb that if Coleridge will assure me that this letter
contains nothing but a naked statement of what he believes
Montagu said to him, I will read it and transmit it to
Montagu, to see how their reports accord. And I will
then give my own, stating what I believe myself to have
said, under what circumstances I spoke, with what motive,
and in what spirit. And there, I believe, the matter must
end ; only I shall admonish Coleridge to be more careful
how he makes written and public mention of injuries done
by me to him.
There is some dreadful foul play, and there are most
atrocious falsehoods, in this business ; the bottom of
which, I believe, I shall never find, nor do I much care
about it. All I want is to bring the parties for once to
a naked and deliberate statement upon the subject, in
order that documents may exist, to be referred to as the
best authority which the case will admit. . . .
CCXLIV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Finished at 12 o'clock Sunday Night, May 12th.
My dear Friend,
. . . I now take up the pen in the midst of a storm of
thunder, lightning, and rain. It was preceded by the most
awful darkness I ever beheld, and accompanied by every
accident that could add to the grandeur of a thunder
storm — the most vivid sunbeams intermingled with dark-
ness, and a rain-bow, a perfect arch spanning the vale
slantways. . . .
TO MRS. CLARKSON 5
We are become regular church-goers (we take it in
turn !) for the sake of the children ; and indeed Mr.
Johnson, our present curate, appears to be so much in
earnest, and is so unassuming and amiable a man, that I
think we should often go, even if we had not the children,
who seem to make it a duty to us. . . . We have had two
letters from Charles Lamb lately. His dear sister shews
signs of amendment, but is yet far from well. Lamb's
last letter was written to desire us to forward all Cole-
ridge's manuscripts. He has sold all his works to Long-
man (among the rest his tragedy) and they are to be
published immediately. . . . You know that C. went to
London with the Montagu's, and that their plan was to
lodge him in their own house, and no doubt M. expected
to have so much influence over him as to lead him into
the way of following up his schemes with industry.
Montagu himself is the most industrious creature in
the world, rises early and works late, but his health is
hy no means good, and when he goes from his labours
rest of body and mind is absolutely necessary to him;
and William perceived clearly that any interruption of his
tranquillity would be a serious injury to him, and if to him
consequently to his family. Further, he was convinced
that if Coleridge took up his abode in M.'s house, they
would soon part with mutual dissatisfaction ; Montagu
being the last man in the world to tolerate in another person
(and that person an inmate with him) habits utterly dis-
cordant with his own. Convinced of these truths, William
used many arguments to persuade M. that his purpose of
keeping Coleridge comfortable could not be answered
by their being in the same house together, but in vain.
Nf ontagu was resolved, " He would do all that could be
lone for him, and would have him at his house."
6 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
After this William spoke out, and told M. the nature'^^o
C.'s habits (nothing in fact but what everybody in whos^
house he has been for two days has seen for themselves),
and Montagu then perceived that it would be better for
C. to have lodgings near him. William intended to give
C. advice to the same effect, but he had no opportunity
of talking with him when C. passed through Grasmere
on his way to London. Soon after they got to London
Montagu wrote to William that oii their road he had seen
so much of C.'s habits that he was convinced he should
be miserable under the same roof with him ; and that he
had repeated to C. what William had said to him, and
that C. had been very angry. Now what could be so
absurd as M.'s bringing forward William's communica-
tions as his reason for not wishing to have C. in the house
with him, when he had himself, as he says, ** seen a con-
firmation of all that William had said " in the very short
time that they were together. So, however, he did, and
William contented himself with telling M. that he thought
he had done unwisely, and he gave him his reasons for
thinking so.
We heard no more of this, or of C. in any way, except
soon after his arrival in town, from Mrs. Montagu that
he was well in health, powdered, etc., and talked of being
busy; from Lamb, that he was in "good spirits and
resolved to be orderly " ; and from other quarters, to the
like effect. But in a letter written by poor dear Mary
Lamb, a few days before her last confinement, she says
she "knows there is coolness between my brother and
C." In consequence of this, I told her what had passed
between M. and W., and assured her of the truth that
there was no coolness on William's part. I of course
received no answer to this letter, for she was taken away
TO MRS. CLARKSON 7
efore it reached London ; and we heard no more of the
matter till the other day, when Mrs. C. received a letter
from Coleridge about this MS. in which he says — as an
excuse for having written to no one, and having done
nothing — that he had endured a series of injuries during
the first month of his stay in London; but I will give
you his own words, as reported to us by Mrs. C. She
says, " He writes as one who had been cruelly injured."
He says, " If you knew in detail of my most unprovoked
sufferings for the first month after I left Keswick, and
with what a thunderclap that part came upon me which
gave the whole power of the anguish to all the rest, you
would pity, you would less wonder at my conduct, or
rather at my suspension of all conduct. You would know
in short that a frenzy of the heart should produce some
of the effects of a derangement of the brain,** etc.
I suppose there is a good deal more of this, but she
says he mentions no names except Mr. and Mrs. Mor-
gan's. He says, "I leave it to Mrs. Morgan to inform
you of my health and habits,** adding that " to hers and
her husband*s kindness he owes it that he is now in his
senses — in short, that he is alive ^ I must own that at
first when I read all this my soul burned with indignation,
that William should thus (by implication) be charged
with having caused derangement in his friend's mind.
A pretty story to be told. " Coleridge has been driven
to madness by Wordsworth's cruel or unjust conduct
towards him ! ** Would not anybody suppose that he
had been guilty of the most atrocious treachery or cruelty ?
But what is the sum of all he did 1 He privately warned
a common friend, disposed to serve C, with all his might,
that C. had one or two habits which might disturb his
tranquillity. He told him what those habits were, and a
8 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
greater kindness could hardly have been done to C^ for
it is not fit that he should go into houses where he is not
already known. If he were to be told what was said at
Penrith, after be had been at Anthony Harrison's, that
he mig^ be thankful to William. I am sure we suffered
enough on that account, and were anxious enough to get
him away. I say that at the first I was stung with indig-
nation, but that soon subsided, and I was lost in pity for
his miserable weakness.
It is certainly very unfortunate for William that he
should be the person on whom he has to charge his
n^^ect of duty, but to Coleridge the difference is noth-
ing, iat if this had not h^pened there would have been
somebody else on whom to cast the blame. William
wrote to Mrs. C. inunediately, and wished her to tran-
scribe his letter, or parts of it, for C, and told her that he
would not write to C. himself as he had not communi-
cated his displeasure to him. Mrs. C. replies that she is
afraid to do this, as C. did not desire her to inform us, and
that it may prevent him from opening letters in future,
etc. I ought to have told you that C. had a violent
quarrel with Carlyle. ...
CCXLV
William Wordsworth to Mrs. Clarkson
Grosvenor Square, Thursday, June 4th.
My dear Friend,
... I shall tell you all that has passed between Cole-
ridge and me. Upon the whole he appears more comfort-
able, and seems to manage himself much better than when
he was at Grasmere. I have seen him several times, but
TO THOMAS DE QUINCEY 9
not much alone ; one morning we had, however, a pleas-
ant walk to Hampstead together. I shall not advert in
the hearing of anybody to what you communicate, in your
last, concerning him. He certainly could not wish to
wound you ; he is sensible that he has used you ill, and I
fear dislikes to encoimter disagreeable sensations, a dislike
which augments in proportion as it is his duty to face
them. These are the regulators and governors of his
actions, to a degree that is pitiable and deplorable. . . .
CCXLVI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Thomas De Quincey
[Postmark, 181 2.]
My dear Friend,
I am grieved to the heart when I write to you, but
you must bear the sad tidings. Our sweet little Catherine
was seized with convulsions on Wednesday night. The
fits continued till the morning, when she breathed her
last. She had been in perfect health, and looked unusu-
ally well. Her leg and arm had gained strength, and we
were full of hope. In short, we had sent the most
delightful accounts to her poor mother. It is a great
addition to our affliction that her father and mother were
not here to see her in the last happy weeks of her short
life. She never forgot Quincey. Dear innocent, she now
lies upon her mother's bed, a perfect image of peace.
This to me was a soothing spectacle after having beheld
her struggles. It is an unspeakable consolation to us
that we are assured that no foresight could have pre-
vented the disease in this last instance ; and that it was
not occasioned by any negligence, or improper food.
lO DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
The disease lay in the brain, and if it had been possible
for her to recover, it is much to be feared that she would
not have retained the faculties of her mind. God bless
^ ' Yours affectionately, ^ ,,,
^ D. Wordsworth.
We have written to my brother, and he will proceed
immediately into Wales to impart the sad intelligence to
my sister. You will be pleased to hear that Mary Daw-
son has been very kind in her attentions to us. John
has been greatly afflicted, but he has begun to admit
consolation. The funeral will be on Monday afternoon.
I wish you had been here to follow your darling to her
grave.
CCXLVII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[Kendal, July 31, 181 2.]
My dearest Friend,
... It was a warm and beautiful day, and I sat upon
the stones close to the water at the end of the walk, — a
long long time. The trees near the house ^ are very much
grown, and the walks are perfectly shady; but the axe
ought to have been used amongst them long ago. I fear
that it is now so late that the trees will never forget their
early confinement, and perhaps in general it would be
better to leave them as they are. Your hops remain
and the Virgin's bower ; but only one half of the porch
is covered, that nearest to Wood-side. . . . We spent
Tuesday afternoon in a walk to Hackett. . . . We had
1 Probably Eusemere. — Ed.
TO MRS. CLARKSON 1 1
a very pleasant afternoon. Tillbrook stationed himself
upon a rock, and sounded his flute to the great delight of
our own party.^ ...
CCXLVIII
William Wordsworth to Daniel Stuart
Grasmere, October 13, 181 2.
My dear Sir,
I ought to have thanked you long since for the trouble
you took, at my request, concerning the French prisoners.
In consequence of your representation, I declined inter-
fering any further in the business. I wish now to trouble
you about a matter concerning myself, presuming upon
the kindness which you have always shown me.
Our powerful neighbour. Lord Lonsdale, has lately
shown a particular wish to serve me, having most kindly
given me an assurance that he will use his influence to
procure for me any situation which falls within the range
of his patronage, the salary of which would be an object
to me, and the duties not so heavy as to engross too much
of my time. His Lordship was so good as to express a
regret that some time might elapse before such a place
might become vacant, and he added that, if I knew of
anything, though not within the circle of his immediate
influence, he would be happy to exert himself in my behalf,
if he were persuaded there were any chance of success.
. . . Will you then be so kind as to point out to' me
anything which is likely to answer my purpose that may
come to your knowledge ? . . . I have no objection, I may
iThe Rev. Samuel Tilbrooke, of Peterhouse, Cambridge, who
had settled at Ivy cottage, Rydal. He is referred to in the sonnet
beginning, " The fairest, brightest hues of ether fade.** — Ed.
12 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
add, to quit this part of the country, provided the salary be
adequate, and the duty what I am equal to without being
under the necessity of withdrawing myself wholly from
literature, which I find an unprofitable concern. ...
With great regard, ^
W. Wordsworth.
CCXLIX
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
1812.
... I am glad to think that you will see Coleridge.
Poor soul ! I only think of him now with my wonted affec-
tion, and with tender feelings of compassion for his infirmi-
ties. We have had several letters from him. Our sorrow
has sunk into him, and he loved the darling the best of all
our little ones. He talks of coming down as soon as pos-
sible, if his play succeeds. I hope it will, and then I am con-
fident he will come. Mrs. C. is just the same as ever, full
of troubles — one wiping away the other — full of bustle,
and full of complaints, yet not against him. There is one
comfort that nothing hurts her ; otherwise it would be very
painful to think of her, for cause enough she has had for
complaint. . . .
CCL
William Wordsworth to Thomas De Quincey
Tuesday Evening, [December i, 181 2.]
My very dear Friend,
We have had measles in the house, and I write under
great affliction. Thomas was seized a few days ago, i.e.,
last Thursday. He was held most favourably till eleven
TO LORD LONSDALE
13
this morning, when a change suddenly took place ; and,
with sorrow of heart I write, he died, sweet innocent,
about six this afternoon. His sufferings were short, and
I think not severe. Pray come to us as soon as you can.
My sister is not at home. Mrs. Wordsworth bears her loss
with striking fortitude, and Miss Hutchinson is as well as
can be expected. My sister will be here to-morrow.
Most tenderly and truly, with heavy sorrow for you, my
dear friend, I remain.
Yours,
W. Wordsworth.
CCLI
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Grasmere, Dec. 27, 181 2.
. . . After mature consideration, I have resolved to
trust to the first feelings excited by your letter; these
were rather to owe any addition to my income required
by me to your friendship than to the Government, or to
any other quarter where it was not in my power to return
what, in the common sentiments of men, would be deemed
an equivalent. Asking permission therefore to retract my
former determination, which I am encouraged to do by
the personal intercourse, and marks of regard with which
you have since distinguished me, and by the inscrutable
delicacy of your last letter, I feel no scruple in saying
that I shall with pride and pleasure accept annually the
sum offered by your lordship until the office has become
vacant, or some other change takes place in my circum-
stances, which might render it unnecessary. I cannot
forbear to add that I feel more satisfaction from this
decision, because my opinions would not lead me to
14 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
decline accepting a pension from Government on the
ground that literary men make some sacrifice of inde-
pendence by such acceptance, and are consequently
degraded. The constitution gives to the crown this
power of rewarding acknowledged ability, and it is not
possible to imagine a more worthy employment of a
certain portion of the revenue. But it seems to me that
the provisions made by our Government for the support
of literature are far too scanty, and in this respect our
practice is much inferior to that of other countries, where
talents of importance to mankind and to posterity — but
which from that very cause can bring little emolument to
the possessor of them, and which demand all the thought
of all his life — are undoubtedly (where they are under-
stood) fostered and honoured, even as a point of pride.
This is the case in Germany, and in France. . . . Now,
as to the general question, it may be laid down as unde-
niable, that if to bestow be a duty (and an honourable
duty), to accept cannot be otherwise than honourable, . . .
CCLII
William Wordsworth to Basil Montagu
Ambleside, Sunday Night, Dec. 27, 181 2.
. . . We have suffered as much anguish as it is possible
to undergo in a like case, for he ^ was a child of heavenly
disposition, meek, simple, innocent, unoffending, affec-
tionate, tender-hearted, passionately fond of knowledge,
ardent in the discharge of his duty, but in everything
else mild and peaceful. I trust that Almighty God has
received him amongst the number of the blessed. . . .
1 His boy Thomas. — Ed.
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 15
1813
CCLIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Elizabeth Threlkeld
January 19th, 1813.
You remember him,^ a lovely child, with a heavenly
sweetness in his countenance which he preserved to the
last, an innocence as pure as at the day of his birth. . . .
Thomas was, of all the children, that one who caused
us the least pain, and who gave us the purest delight.
He was affectionate, sweet-tempered, ardent in the pur-
suit of learning, invariably doing his duty without effort
or interference on the part of others, and above all he had
a simplicity which was his own, an infantine innoceno^
which marked him as not of this world. . . .
[Of Rydal Mount, whither they were going, she said]
It is the pleasantest residence in this neighbourhood, in
perfect repair, comfortable and convenient, and is in the
very situation which in the happiest of our days we chose
as the most delightful in the country. . . .
CCLIV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Marshall
Jan. 24th, [1 8 1 3.]
... I go on as usual with my daily pursuits, and I
trust I do not repine at the loss of that beloved child,
1 Her nephew. — Ed.
1 6 DOROTHy WORDSWORTH
who is returned whence he so lately came, as pure a spirit
as ever was received into those regions. Untainted he
remained in this world, and is now happy, and gone but
a few years before us. So I feel, so I think of him ; yet
my tears will flow, I cannot help it His very self is so
vivid in my mind, it is like a perpetual presence. You
know how I loved him when he was alive, how I prized
his promising virtues. My heart is full of the sweet
image of him whom I shall see no more. At times, when
I muse on a future life and on his blessedness, I lose the
thoughts of anguish. The child becomes spiritualized to
my mind. I wish I could have such musings more fre-
quently, and longer; but as long as I have breath, thy
grave, beloved child, will be remembered by me with pen-
sive sadness. ... At times I think my brother looks ten
years older since the death of Thomas. I hope we shall
not remain more than two months or ten weeks longer in
this house ; and you must come and see us when we get
^> the other.^ It is a place that, ten years ago, I should
nave almost danced with joy if I could have dreamed it
would ever be ours. . . .
CCLV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Marshall
Rydal Mount, Thursday Morning, 1813.
Arrived yesterday. The weather is delightful, and the
place a paradise ; but my inner thoughts will go back to
Grasmere. I was the last person who left the house yes-
terday evening. It seemed as quiet as the grave ; and
1 Rydal Mount. — Ed.
TO MRS. MARSHALL 1 7
the very church-yard, where our darlings lie, when I gave
it a last look, seemed to cheer my thoughts. There I
could think of life and immortality. The house only
reminded me of desolate gloom, emptiness, and cheerless
silence. But why do I now turn to these things ? The
morning is bright, and I am more cheerful. . . .
CCLVI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Thursday, April 8th, [1813.]
. . . When we had been informed by a person to whom
Nfr. North had said it, that he had nothing left in the
douse ^ but a few bottles, William wrote a note requesting
\fr. N.'s permission to enter upon the house ; and giving
lis reasons in a very delicate manner, hinting plainly
It the most important one, and we received an answer,
x)uched in civil terms, to the following effect : that Mr.
^. would be happy to accommodate Mr. W. as soon as
le had got preparations made for the reception of at least
line cart loads of goods which were yet in the house. Now
hese goods are the wine in his cellars, and he has bins
X) make for his wine at Ambleside. Would not any one
but himself have requested permission to keep the wine
locked up in the cellars, and have given the free use of
the house which he no longer wanted himself? It is
three weeks or more since the house was empty, and we
iear nothing further, so we shall not remove till May
lay. . . .
But this leads me to the green graves in the corner of
»ur church-yard (and let that ground be peaceful !) and I
1 Rydal Mount. — Ed.
1 8 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
feel now that my heart is going to struggle with unbefit-
ting sorrow while I talk of resignation ; but I trust the
time will^come when all the tears I shed shall be tears
of hope and quiet tenderness. Yet if you had known
Thomas, if you had seen him, if you had felt the hopes
which his innocent, intelligent, eager, yet most innocent
and heavenly, countenance raised in our hearts many a
time when we silently looked upon him, you would won-
der that we have been able to bear the loss of him as
well as we have borne it ; but with a humbled spirit I
must confess we have not been submitted as we ought to
have been.
I have laid down the pen for some minutes and I can
write upon other matters less deeply interesting. Yet
once more, blessings be on his grave — that turf which
his pure feet so often have trod.
My dear friend, as to Coleridge you have done all that
can be done, and we are grieved that you have had so
much uneasiness, and taken so much trouble about him.
He will not let himself be served by others. Oh, that
the day may ever come when he will serve himself !
Then will his eyes be opened, and he will see clearly that
we have loved him always, do still love him, and have
ever loved — not measuring his deserts. I do not now
wish him to come into the North ; that is, I do not wish
him to do it for the sake of any wish to gratify us. But
if he should do it of himself I should be glad as the best
sign that he was endeavouring to perform his duties.
His conduct to you has been selfish and unfeeling in the
extreme, which makes me hope no good of him at pres-
ent, especially as I hear from all quarters so much of his
confident announcement of plans for this musical drama,
that comedy, the other essay. Let him doubt, and his
TO MRS. CLARKSON 1 9
powers will revive. Till then they must sleep. God
bless him. He little knows with what tenderness we
have lately thought of him, nor how entirely we are soft-
ened to all sense of injury. We have had no thoughts of
him but such as ought to have made him lean upon us
with confidential love, and fear not to confess his weak-
nesses.
The boys come to us almost every week. Hartley is
as odd as ever, and in the weak points of his character
resembles his father very much ; but he is not prone to
sensual indulgence — quite the contrary — and has not
one expensive habit. Derwent is to me a much more
interesting boy. He is very clever. I should wish him
to be put in the way of some profession in which scientific
knowledge would be useful ; for his mind takes that turn.
He is uncommonly acute and accurate. WiUiam will
now be enabled to assist in sending Hartley to college ;
but of course this must not be mentioned ; for the best
thing that can happen to his father will be that he should
suppose that' the whole care of putting Hartley forward
must fall upon himself. . . .^
CCLVII
William Wordsworth to Francis Wrangham
Rydal Mount, near Ambleside,
August 28th, 18 1 3.
My dear Wrangham,
Your letter arrived when I was upon the point of going
from home on business. I took it with me, intending to
answer it upon the road ; but I had not courage to under-
take the office on account of the inquiries it contains
20 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
concerning my family. I will be brief on this melancholy
subject. In the course of the last year I have lost two
sweet children, a girl and a boy, at the ages of four and
six and a half. These innocents were the delight of our
hearts, and beloved by everybody that knew them. They
were cut oflF in a few hours — one by measles, and the
other by convulsions — dying one half a year after the
other. I quit this sorrowful subject, secure of your sym-
pathy as a father and as my friend.
I have transmitted the request in your letter to my
brother, so that no doubt you will hear from him ; but
this act of duty I have only discharged to-day, from want
of fortitude.
My employment ^ I find salutary to me, and of conse-
quence in a pecuniary point of view; as my literary employ-
ments bring me no emoluments, nor promise any. As to
what you say about the Ministry, I very much prefer the
course of their policy to that of the Opposition, especially
on two points most near my heart, resistance of Buona-
parte by force of arms, and their adherence to the princi-
ples of the British Constitution in withholding political |-
power from the Roman Catholics. My moist determined
hostility shall always be directed against those statesmen,
who — like Whitbread, Grenville, and others — would f-
crouch to a sanguinary tyrant ; and I cannot act with
those who see no danger to the Constitution in intro-
ducing papists into Parliament. |
There are other points of policy on which I deem the
Opposition grievously mistaken ; and therefore I am at f
present, and long have been by principle, a supporter of |
the Ministry, as far as my little influence extends. I
I
1 That of Distributor of Stamps for the County of Westmore- j
land. — Ed.
K
r
S:
TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM 21
With aflEectionate wishes for your welfare and that of
your family, and with best regards to Mrs. Wrangham,
I am, my dear friend,
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCLVIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[No date. 1813.]
. . . But now I must tell you of our grandeur. We
are going to have a Turkey carpet in the dining-room,
and a Brussels in William's study. You stare, and the
simplicity of the dear Town-End Cottage comes before
your eyes, and you are tempted to say, "Are they changed,
are they setting up for fine folks ? " No, no, you do not
make such a guess ; but you want an explanation, and I
must give it you. The Turkey carpet (it is a large room)
will cost twenty-two guineas, and a Scotch carpet would
cost nine or ten. The Turkey will last out four Scotch,
therefore will be the cheaper, and will never be shabby.
. . . The study is furnished with a large book-case,
some chairs that we had at Allan Bank painted black,
and Sir George Beaumont's pictures, and looks very neat.
We have got window curtains for it, and a nice writing-
table. . . . The house is very comfortable, and most con-
venient, though far from being as good a house as we
expected. We had never seen the inside of it till we came
to live in it. We have three kitchens, one of which is
called the deep kitchen. The grate is decked out by the
22 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
kitchen maid with flourishing- green boughs, which are
only displaced when this same kitchen is used as a laun-
dry. At other times the clock lives there in perfect soli-
tude, except that it has the company of two white tables
and other appropriate furniture. . . . We are all garden-
ers, especially Sarah, who is mistress and superintendent
of that concern. I am contented to work under her, and
Mary does her share, and sometimes we work very hard,
and this is a great amusement to us, though sad thoughts
often come between.
Thomas was a darling in a garden, our best helper,
steady to his work, always pleased. God bless his mem-
ory. I see him wherever I turn, beautiful innocent
that he was. He had a slow heavenly up-turning of his
large blue eyes that is never to be forgotten. Would that
you had seen him! But, my dear friend, why have I
turned to this subject ? Because I write to you what
comes uppermost, the pen following the heart, but no
more. You must, indeed you must, come next year. I
never talk of next year's plans, but I think of death.
Come however you must, if you live, whether we are all
alive or not. It is the place of all others for you, so dry
that you need never have a wet foot after the heaviest
shower ; and the prospect so various and beautiful that
an invalid or a weakly person might be accused of dis-
contentedness who should wish for anything else, or
repine at not being able to go further than round our
garden. . . . We have such a terrace for you to walk
upon, and such a seat at the end of it. . . .
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 23
CCLIX
William Wordsworth to Robert Southey
[No date.]
. . We want no pensions and reversions for our heirs,
no monuments by public or private subscription. We
f have a monument in our works^ if they survive. If
do not, we should not deserve it. So with regard to
ise from the dictum of the Privy Council, if our works
e to be called for, the privilege would be but a
kery, and an occasion of malignant sarcasm from the
disposed. . . .
Ever affectionately yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
24 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
1814
CCLX
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[Undated, written probably in January, 18 14.]
My dearest Friend,
... I feel that much of the knowledge which I had
formerly gained from books has slipped from me, and it
is grievous to think that hardly one new idea has come in
by that " means." This in itself would be no great evil, but
the sorrows of this life weaken the memory so much that
I find reading of far less use than it used to be to me ;
and if it were not that my feelings were as much alive as
ever, there would be a growing tendency in the mind to
barrenness. . . .
Southey is in London. Perhaps that may bring Cole-
ridge down. He ought to come down to see after Hart-
ley, who wants removing to another school before he
goes to college ; for his oddities increase daily, and he
wants other discipline. But, because he ought to come,
I fear he will not; and how is H. to be sent to col-
lege? These perplexities no doubt glance across his
mind like dreams, but nothing will rouse him to his duty
as duty, . . •
TO MRS. CLARKSON 25
CCLXl
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Rydal Mount, Feb. 9, 18 14.
. . . Every one knows of what importance the eques-
trian order was in preserving tranquillity and a balance
and gradation of power in ancient Rome ; the like may
take place among ourselves through the medium of an
armed yeomanry ; and surely a preservative of this kind
is largely called for by the tendencies of things at pres-
ent ... If the whole island was covered with a force of
this kind, the Press properly curbed, the Poor Laws grad-
ually reformed, provision made for new Churches to keep
pace with the population (an indispensable measure) if
these things were done and other improvements carried
forward as they have been, order may yet be preserved
among us, and the people remain free and happy. . . .
CCLXII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
April 22nd.
My dear Friend,
. . . The poem ^ is to be published. We females have
been very anxious that it should, and for the reason you
mentioned. Besides that we think it will sell, first,
because we think that the story will bear it up, in spite
of that spirit that is above the common level of the pres-
ent state of public knowledge and taste ; and, secondly,
because the buzz of the lectures will help it. Poor
1 7^ White Doe of Rylstone,^YA,
26 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
Coleridge ! he has indeed fought a good fight, and I hope
he will not yield ; but come to us having accomplished a
perfect victory. . . .
CCLXIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Keswick, Sunday, April 24th, [18 14.]
... I should have wished to be at home, for William
is actually printing nine books of his long poem. It has
been copied in my absence, and great alterations have
been made some of which indeed I had an opportunity
of seeing during my week's visit But the printing has
since been going on briskly, and not one proof-sheet has
yet met my eyes. We are all most thankful that William
has brought his mind to consent to printing so much of
this work ; for the MSS. were in such a state that, if it
had pleased Heaven to take him from this world, they
would have been almost useless. I do not think the
book will be published before next winter ; but, at the
same time, will come out a new edition of his poems in
two volumes octavo,^ and shortly afterwards, Peter Bell^
The White Doe? and Benjamin the Waggoner,^ ...
He is gone ; the darling who loved his books, and
whom his father used to contemplate as the future com-
panion of his studies.^ Why do I turn to these sad
1 Published in 1815. — Ed.
2 First published in 18 19. — Ed.
8 First published in 181 5. — Ed.
* First published in 18 19. — Ed.
^ Thomas Wordsworth, who died at the parsonage in the previous
year. — Ed.
TO MRS. CLARKSON 27
thoughts ! Oh ! my dearest friend, the pangs which the
recollection of that heavenly child causes me it is hard
to stifle ; and many a struggle have I had, — in all situa-
tions, in company and alone, and when in converse as
now with you, — but I trust there is no wickedness in
this which is unavoidable. I am reconciled, and resigned,
and cheerful, except when the struggle is upon me. His
poor mother was shaken bitterly by Catherine's death
and I fear she never will be the same cheerful creature
as heretofore. When left to herself she is dejected, and
often weeps bitterly ; but I must turn to other subjects.
Willy is a dear child — exceptionally lively and very
clever — but utterly averse to books ! This I think is
entirely owing to his having been so much indulged. . . .
To the last page I am come, and not a word of the
Emperor Alexander, the King of France or the fallen
Monarch ! Surely it must seem to us, encircled by these
mountains, that our own little concerns outweigh the
mighty joys and sorrows of nations ; or I could not have
been so long silent. . . . He [Buonaparte] should have been
tried for the murders of the Due d' Enghien,^ of Pichegru,"
of Captain Wright,* of Palm * — of one or all ; and what
a pension they have granted him ! This is folly, rather
than liberality ; for of what use can a large income be in
an island without luxuries, and without company. He
can have no wants beyond a bare maintenance. . . .
1 L. A. H. de Bourbon, Due d* Enghien, executed by Buonaparte
in 1804. — Ed.
2 Charles Pichegrn (1761-1804). — Ed.
« Captain John Wesley Wright (1769-1805). — Ed.
* John Philip Palm, of Nuremberg, shot by Napoleon in 1806. —
Ed.
28 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCLXIV
William Wordsworth to Francis Wrangham
April 26, 18 14.
... I am busy with the printers' devils. A portion of a
long poem ^ from me will see the light ere long. I hope
it will give you pleasure. It is serious, and has been written
with great labour. . • •
CCLXV
William Wordsworth to Thomas Poole
Rydal Mount, near Ambleside,
April 28th, 1 814.
My dear Poole,
I have long thought of writing to you upon the situation
of Hartley Coleridge, and have only been prevented by con-
siderations of delicacy towards his father, whose exertions
on behalf of this child I hoped would have rendered any
interference of the friends of the family unnecessary. But
I cannot learn that poor Coleridge has mustered courage
to look this matter fairly in the face ; it is therefore incum-
bent on his friends to do their best to prevent the father's
weaknesses being ruinous to the son. Hartley is now sev-
enteen years and a half old ; and, therefore, no time is to
be lost in determining upon his future course in life.
Knowing your attachment to Coleridge and to his
family, and that Coleridge is now residing at no great
distance from you, I beg that you would contrive to see
and converse with him upon this subject. I do not
expect that Coleridge will be able to do anything himself,
1 The Excursion, — Ed.
/
TO THOMAS POOLE 29
but his consent will be indispensable before any of )iis
friends can openly stir in exertions for Hartley. It is a
subject on every side attended with difficulties ; for in
the first place it is not easy to determine what the youth
is fit for. His talents appear to be very considerable,
but not of that kind which may be confidently relied upon
as a security for an independence in any usual course of
exertion. His attainments also, though in some depart-
ments far exceeding the common measure of those of his
age, are extremely irregular ; and he is deficient in much
valuable knowledge both of books and things that might
have been gained at a public school. But could he be
immediately sent for one year to a school of this kind, I
should be emboldened to hope somewhat confidently that
such a preparation would enable him to go successfully
through either of the Universities.
It avails little to think or write much about this, till a
fund has been secured for his maintenance till he can
support himself, in whatever course of life may be de;ter-
mined upon. Now, I know of nobody who has declared
intentions to contribute to this but Lady Beaumont, who
has most kindly offered to advance thirty pounds a year
towards maintaining Hartley at the University. Southey
has a little world dependent upon his industry ; and my
own means are not more than my family requires ; but
something I would willingly contribute, and if it were
convenient to you to assist him in this way or any other,
it would encourage one to make applications elsewhere.
But in all this I defer to you, and wish to know what you
advise, and most happy shall I be to join in anything
you recommend.
Having said all that appears necessary on this subject,
I cannot but add to an old friend two or three words
30 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
about mjrself, though you probably will have heard from
others how I am going on. I live at present in a most
delightful situation ; and have a public emplo3rment which
is a comfortable addition to my income, but I pay ;£"ioo
per annum out of it to my predecessor, and it falls nearly
another loo below the value at which my noble patron —
Lord Lonsdale — had been led to estimate it.
My marriage has been as happy as man's could be,
saving that we have lost two sweet children (out of five),
a boy and girl of the several ages of six and a half and
four years. This was a heavy affliction to us, as they
were as amiable and promising creatures as a house could
be blest with. My poetical labours have often suffered
long interruptions ; but I have at last resolved to send to
the press a portion of a poem which, if I live to finish it,
I hope future times will " not willingly let die." These
you know are the words of my great predecessor, and the
depth of my feelings upon some subjects seems to justify
me in the act of applying them to myself, while speaking
to a friend, who I know has always been partial to me.
When you write, speak of yourself and your family. I
hear wonders of a niece of yours. May we not hope to
see you here ? Let it not be during my absence. I shall
be from home at least for six weeks during the ensuing
summer, meaning to take a tour in Scotland with my wife
and her sister. My sister joins in affectionate remem-
brances to you ; and I shall say for my wife that she will
be most happy to see you in this place, with which I ven-
ture to promise that you will be much pleased. Believe
me, my dear Poole,
Most faithfully yours,
W. Wordsworth.
TO SAMUEL ROGERS 3 1
CCLXVI
William Wordsworth to Samuel Rogers
Rydal Mount, May 5, 181 4.
My dear Sir,
Some little time since, in consequence of a distressful
representation made to me of the condition of some per-
son connected nearly by marriage with Mrs. Wordsworth,
I applied to our common friend Mr. Sharp to know if he
had any means of procuring an admittance into Christ's
Hospital, for a child of one of the parties. His reply was
such as I feared it would be. . . . He referred me to
you. ... I have to thank you for a present of your
volume of poems, received some time since, through the
hands of Southey. I have read it with great pleasure.
The Columbus^ is what you intended. It has many
bright and striking passages, and poems upon this plan
please better on a second perusal than the first. The
gaps ^ at first disappoint and vex you.
There is a pretty piece in which you have done me the
honour of imitating me towards the conclusion particularly,
where you must have remembered the Highland Girl.'^ I
like the poem much ; but the first paragraph is hurt by two
apostrophes, to objects of different character, ©ne to Luss,
and one to your sister, and the apostrophe is not a figure
that like Janus carries two faces with a good grace.
I am about to print (do not start) eight thousand lines,
which is but a small portion of what I shall oppress the
1 TTit Voyage of Columbus (181 2). — Ed.
2 The " gaps " refer to the numerous starred lines (♦***) within
the several cantos. — Ed.
« The poem Written in the Highlands of Scotland, September 2,
j8i2. — Ed.
32 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
world with, if strength and life do not fail me. I shall
be content if the publication pays the expenses ; for Mr.
Scott, and your friend Lord Byron, flourishing at the rate
they do, how can an honest poet hope to thrive ?
I expect to hear of your taking flight to Paris, unless
the convocation of emperors and other personages by
which London is to be honoured, detain you to assist at
the festivities.
For me, I would like dearly to see old Blucher, but as
the fates will not allow, I mean to recompense myself by
an excursion with Mrs. Wordsworth to Scotland, where I
hope to fall in occasionally with a ptarmigan, a roe, or an
eagle ; and the living bird I certainly should prefer to its
image on the panel of a dishonoured emperor's coach.
Farewell. I shall be happy to see you here at all
times, for your company is a treat.
Most truly yours, „, „,
■^ "^ W. Wordsworth.
CCLXVII
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
May 24, 18 1 4.
. . • Unwilling that what I cannot but think the errors
of the bullionists should be laid open, I wrote to Mr.
Southey, begging his interest with the editor of the Q. R.
to procure the reviewing of the pamphlets on this subject
for Mr. De Quincey, editor of the Westmoreland Gazette,
Mr. Southey wrote in reply, " I fear the Q. R. would be
closed against De Q.'s opinions upon the Bullion ques-
tion, as it is against mine on the Catholics^ (Mr. Southey
is an enemy to further concessions.) " And indeed
/
TO VISCOUNT LOWTHER 33
more certainly because some years ago it took the wrong
side upon that subject; and consistency in a political
error is the only kind of consistency to be expected in a
journal of this kind. This I am sorry for, because if De
Quincey could bring his reasonings before the public
through a favourable channel I think he would go far
towards exploding a mischievous error." From this
extract it may be seen that these Reviews value above
every tiling the keeping up the notion of their own myste-
rious infallibility. It is probable that the Q. R. is closed
against the opponents of the Catholic claims, in conse-
quence of its having espoused the other side, through
the influence of Mr. Canning over the editor. The great
circulation of the two Reviews, The Quarterly and The
Edinburgh^ has been very injurious to free discussion, by
making it almost insurmountably difficult for any writer,
not holding a public situation, to obtain a hearing, if his
opinions should not suit either of these periodical publi-
cations. . . .
CCLXVIII
William Wordsworth to Viscount Lowther
[No date ?]
Do you suppose that Tierney is really sincere in his
declaration that he adopts the positions of the Report of
the Bullion Committee of which Horner was chairman?
If he does, he has studied political economy to little
purpose. For instance, what an assertion that gold had
not risen in value, it was only that paper had fallen !
This is theory trampling upon fact ; upon a conse-
quence arising from the state of Europe obvious, one
would have thought, to a child. . . .
34 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCLXIX
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs. Clarkson
HiNDWELL, Radnor,
Sunday Night, 9th October, [181 4.]
. . . Hazlitt's review^ appeared in the Examiner. It
is not half so good a review as I should have thought he
would have written ; for, with all his disagreeable ' quali-
ties, he is a very clever fellow. He says that the narra-
tive parts of the poem are a dead weight* upon it; but
speaks in raptures of the philosophical. Now we have
no doubt that the narrative will be liked the best by most
readers; therefore, we are most glad to hear that the
religious and philosophical parts are relished. Of their
merit I cannot entertain the faintest shadow of a doubt ;
yet I am afraid that, for a time, an outcry will be raised
by many readers and many reviewers, which may injure
the sale. . . .
CCLXX
William Wordsworth to Robert Pearce Gillies'^
Rydal Mount, Nov. 12, 18 14.
You are a most indulgent and good-natured critic, or I
think you would hardly have been so much pleased with
Yarrow Visited, We think it heavier than my things
generally are, and nothing but a wish to show to Mr.
Hogg that my inclination towards him, and his proposed
1 Of The Excursion, — Ed.
2 The editor of the Foreign Quarterly Review^ and author of
Memoirs of a Literary Veteran (1851). — Ed.
TO R. P. GILLIES 35
work, were favourable, could have induced me to part
with it in that state. I have composed three new stanzas
in place of the three first, and another to be inserted
before the two last, and have made some alterations in
other parts ; therefore, when you see Mr. Hogg, beg from
me that he will not print the poem till he has read the
copy which I have added to Miss E. Wilson's MS., as I
scarcely doubt, notwithstanding the bias of first impres-
sions, that he will prefer it. t
In the same MS. you will find a sonnet addressed to
yourself,^ which I should have mentioned before, but for a
reason of the same kind as kept you silent on the subject
of yours. I am not a little concerned that you continue
to suffer from morbid feelings, and still more that you
regard them as incurable. . . . But this I can confidently
say, that poetry and the poetic spirit will either help you,
or harm you, as you use them. If you find in yourself
more of the latter effect than of the former, forswear the
Muses, and apply tooth and nail to law, to mathematics,
to mechanics, to anything, only escape from your insidi-
ous foe. But if you are benefited by your intercourse
with the lyre, then give yourself up to it, with the enthu-
siasm which I am sure is natural to you. I should like
to be remembered to Mr. Lappenberg,^ to Mr. Hogg, and
our friends in Queen Street, of course. Mr. Sharpe, I
hope, does not forget me. Adieu, most faithfully, and
with great respect. Yours,
William Wordsworth.
1 See the lines beginning, " From the dark chamber of dejection
freed," in Vol. IV of Poetical Worksy Eversley edition, pp. 3, 4, and
the accoropan3dng note on Gillies. — Ed.
2 Mr. Lappenberg translated into German We are Seveuy To a
Butterfly t and several others of Wordsworth's poems. — Ed.
36 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCLXXI
William Wordsworth to R. P. Gillies
Rydal Mount, Nov. 23, 18 14.
My dear Sir,
... I have to thank you for Egbert, which is pleas-
ingly and vigorously written, and proves that with a due
sacrifice of exertion, you will be capable of performing
things that will have a strong claim on the regards of
posterity. But keep, I pray you, to the great models;
there is in some parts of this tale — particularly page
four — too much of a bad writer, Lord Byron ; and I will
observe that towards the conclusion the intervention of
the peasant is not only unnecessary, but injurious to
the tale, inasmuch as it takes away from that species of
credibility on which it rests. I have peeped into The
Ruminator, and turned to your first letter, which is
well executed, and seizes the attention very agreeably.
Your longer poem I have barely looked into, but I
promise myself no inconsiderable pleasure in the perusal
of this.
I thank you for The QueerCs Wake, Since I saw you in
Edinburgh I have read it. It does Mr. Hogg great credit
Of the tales, I liked best, much the best. The Witch of
Fife, the former part of Kilmany, and the Abbot Mackin-
non. Mr. Hogg himself, I remember, seemed most par-
tial to Mary Scott, though he thought it too long. For
my own part, though I always deem the opinion of an
able writer upon his own works entitled to consideration,
I cannot agree with Mr. Hogg in this preference. The
story of Mary Scott appears to me extremely improbable,
and not skilfully conducted ; besides, the style of the
TO R. P. GILLIES 37
piece is often vicious. The intermediate parts of The
Queen^s Wake are done with much spirit, but the style
here, also, is often disfigured with false finery, and in too
many places it recalls Mr. Scott to one's mind. Mr.
Hogg has too much genius to require that support, how-
ever respectable in itself. As to style, if I had an oppor-
tunity I should like to converse with you thereupon.
Such is your sensibility, and your power of mind, that I
am sure I could induce you to abandon many favourite
modes of speech ; for example, why should you write,
"Where the lake gleams beneath the autumn sun,"
instead of "autumnal" — which is surely more natural
and harmonious ? We say " summer sun," because we
have no adjective termination for that season, but "vernal "
and " autumnal " are both unexceptionable words. Miss
Seward uses " hybemal," and I think it is to be regretted
that the word is not familiar. But these discussions
render a letter extremely dull.
I sent the alterations of Yarrow Visited to Miss Hutch-
inson and my sister in Wales, who think them great
improvements, and are delighted with the poem as it now
stands. Second parts, if much inferior to the first, are
always disgusting, and as I had succeeded in Yarrow
Unvisitedy I was anxious that there should be no falling
off ; but that was unavoidable, perhaps, from the sub-
ject, as imagination almost always transcends reality. I
remain, . . . with great regard and respect, yours most
^' William Wordsworth.
38 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCLXXII
William Wordsworth to R, P, Gillies
Rydal Mount, Dec. 22, 18 14.
My dear Sir,
Your account of yourself distresses me. Flee from
your present abode. If you resolve on going to London,
let me beg of you to take Westmoreland in your way.
You can make a trial here, and should it not answer, you
are only so far on your way to town. . . .
Your first position, that every idea which passes through
a poet's mind may be made passionate, and therefore poet-
ical, I am not sure that I understand. If you mean through
a poet's mind when in a poetical mood, the words are noth-
ing but an identical proposition. But a poet must be sub-
ject to a thousand thoughts in common with other men,
and many of them must, I suppose, be as unsusceptible
of alliance with poetic passion as the thoughts that inter-
est ordinary men. But the range of poetic feeling is far
wider than is ordinarily supposed, and the furnishing new
proofs of this fact is the only incontestible demonstration
of genuine poetic genius. Secondly, "The moment a
clear idea of any kind is conceived, it ought to be brought
out directly, and as rapidly as possible, without a view
to any particular style of language." I am not sure that
I comprehend your meaning here. Is it that a man's
thoughts should be noted down in prose? or that he
should express them in any kind of verse that they most
easily fall into ? I think it well to make brief memoranda
of our most interesting thoughts in prose ; but to write
fragments of verse is an embarrassing practice. A simi-
lar course answers well in painting, under the name of
TO R. P. GILLIES 39
Studies ; but in poetry it is apt to betray a writer into
awkwardness, and to turn him out of his course for the
purpose of lugging on these ready-made pieces by the
head and shoulders. Or do you simply mean that such
thoughts as arise in the process of composition should
be expressed in the first words that offer themselves, as
being likely to be most energetic and natural? If so,
this is not a rule to be followed without cautious excep-
tions. My first expressions I often find detestable ; and
it is frequently true of second words, as of second
thoughts, that they are the best. I entirely accord with
you in your third observation, that we should be cautious
not to waste our lives in dreams of imaginary excellence,
for a thousand reasons, and not the least for this, that
these notions of excellence may perhaps be erroneous,
and then our inability to catch a phantom of no value
may prevent us from attempting to seize a precious
substance within our reach.
When your letter arrived I was in the act of reading
to Mrs. Wordsworth your Exile^ which pleased me more,
I think, than anything that I have read of yours. There
is, indeed, something of " mystification " about it, which
does not enhance its value with me ; but it is, I think, in
many passages delightfully conceived and expressed. I
was particularly charmed with the seventeenth stanza,
first part. This is a passage which I shall often repeat
to myself ; and I assure you that, with the exception of
Bums and Cowper, there is very little of recent verse,
however much it may interest me, that sticks to my
memory (I mean which I get by heart). . . .
. . . Mr. Hogg's Badlew (I suppose it to be his) I
could not get through. There are two pretty passages ;
the flight of the deer, and the falling of the child from the
40 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
rock of Stirling, though both are a little outrk. But the
story is coarsely conceived, and, in my judgment, as
coarsely executed ; the style barbarous, and the versifica-
tion harsh and uncouth. Mr. Hogg is too illiterate to
write in any measure or style that does not savour of
balladism. This is much to be regretted ; for he is pos-
sessed of no ordinary power.
. . . Do not imagine that my principles lead me to
condemn Scott's method of pleasing the public, or that I
have not a very high respect for his various talents and
extensive attainments. . . . With great respect, I remain
yours,
William Wordsworth.
CCLXXIII
William Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[No date.]
My dear Friend,
I don't know that it is quite fair to sit down to answer
a letter of friendship the moment it is received, but allow
me to do so in this case. ... To you I will whisper that
77ie Excursion has one merit if it has no other, viz. variety
of musical effect. Tell Patty Smith this. The name is a
secret with me, and would make her stare. Exhort her
to study with her fingers till she has learned to confess it
to herself. Miss S.'s notion of poetical imagery is prob-
ably taken from The Pleasures of Hope^ or Gertrude of
Wyoming; see, for instance, stanza first of said poem.
There is very little imagery of thatYxn^ in The Excursion;
but I am far from subscribing to your concession that
there is little imagery in the poem ; either collateral, in
the way of metaphor coloring the style; illustrative, in
TO MRS. CLARKSON 4 1
the way of simile ; or directly under the shape of descrip-
tion or incident. There is a great deal, though not quite
so much as will be found in the other parts of the poem,
where the subjects are more lyrically treated, and where
there is less narration or description turning upon man-
ners, and those repeated actions which constitute habits,
or a course of life. Poetic passion (Dennis has well
observed) is of two kinds ; imaginative and enthusiastic,
and merely human and ordinary. Of the former it is
only to be feared that there is too great a proportion.
But all this must inevitably be lost upon Miss P. S.
The soul, dear Mrs. Clarkson, may be re-given, when it
has been taken away. My own " Solitary " is an instance
of this ; but a soul that has been dwarfed by a course of
bad culture cannot, after a certain age, be expanded into
one of even ordinary proportion. Mere error of opinion,
mere apprehension of ill consequences from supposed
mistaken views on my part, could never have rendered
your correspondent blind to the innumerable analogies
and types of infinity, or insensible to the countless awak-
enings to noble aspiration, which I have transfused into
that poem from the Bible of the Universe, as it speaks to
the ear of the intelligent, and as it lies open to the eyes
of the humble-minded.
I have alluded to the lady's errors of opinion. She
talks of my being a worshiper of Nature. A passionate
expression, uttered incautiously in the poem upon the
Wye, has led her into this mistake ; she, reading in cold-
heartedness, and substituting the letter for the spirit.
Unless I am greatly mistaken, there is nothing of this
I kind in Tke Excursion, There is indeed a passage towards
\ the end of the fourth book, where the Wanderer intro-
duces the simile of the Boy and the Shell, that has
42 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
something ordinarily (but absurdly) called Spinosistk. But
the intelligent reader will easily see the dramatic propriety
of the passage. The Wanderer, in the beginning of the
book, had given vent to his own devotional feelings, and
announced in some degree his own creed. He is here
preparing the way for more distinct conceptions of the
Deity, by reminding the Solitary of such religious feel-
ings as cannot but exist in the minds of those who
affect atheism. She condemns me for not distinguish-
ing between Nature as the work of God, and God him-
self. But where does she find this doctrine inculcated?
Whence does she gather that the author of The Excursion
looks upon Nature and God as the same } He does not
indeed consider the Supreme Being as bearing the same
relation to the Universe, as a watch-maker bears to a
watch. In fact, there is nothing in the course of the
religious education adopted in this country, and in the use
made by us of the Holy Scriptures, that appears to me so
injurious as perpetually talking about making by God,
Oh ! that your correspondent had heard a conversation
which I had in bed with my sweet little boy, four and
a half years old, upon this subject the other morning.
" How did God make me ? Where is God ? How does
he speak? He never spoke to me,^^ I told him that
God was a spirit, — that he was not like his flesh, which he
could touch ; but more like his thoughts, in his mind,
which he could not touch. The wind was tossing the fir
trees, and the sky and light were dancing about in their
dark branches, as seen through the window. Noting
these fluctuations, he exclaimed eagerly, " There 's a bit
of Him, I see it there ! " This is not meant entirely for
father's prattle; but for heaven's sake, in your religious
talk with children, say as little as possible about making.
TO MRS. CLARKSON 43
One of the main objects of The Recluse is to reduce the
calculating understanding to its proper level among the
human faculties.
... I have done little or nothing towards your request
of furnishing you with arguments to cope with my antago-
nist Read the book if it pleases you ; the construction
of the language is uniformly perspicuous ; at least I have
taken every possible pains to make it so, therefore you
will have no difficulty there. The impediments you may
meet with will be of two kinds, such as exist in the Ode
which concludes my second volume of poems. This
poem rests entirely upon two recollections of childhood ;
one that of a splendour in the objects of sense which is
passed away ; and the other an indisposition to bend to
the law of death, as applying to our own particular case.
A reader who has not a vivid recollection of these feelings
having existed in his mind in childhood cannot under-
stand that poem. So also with regard to some of those ele-
ments of the human soul whose importance is insisted upon
in The Excursion^ and some of those images of sense which
are dwelt upon as holding that relation to Immortality and
Infinity which I have before alluded to. . . .
44
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
1814?
CCLXXIV
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
[No date.]
. . . Lamb is justifiably enraged at the spurious review
which his friends suspect to be his. No Newmarket jockey,
no horse-stealer, was ever able to play a hundredth part
of the tricks upon the person of an unhappy beast that the
Bavius of the Quarterly Review has done. . . .
To talk of the offence of writing The Excursion and the
difficulty of forgiving the author, is carrpng audacity and
presumption to a height of which I did not think any
woman was capable. Had my poem been much coloured
by books, as many parts of what I have to write must be,
I should have been accused (as Milton has been) of
pedantry, and of having a mind which could not support
itself but by other men's labours. Do not you perceive
that my conversations almost all take place out of doors,
and all with grand objects of Nature, surrounding the
speakers, for the express purpose of their being alluded
to in illustration of the subjects treated of? Much
imagery from books would have been an impertinence,
and an incumbrance ; where it was required, it is found.
As to passion, it is never to be lost sight of that The
Excursion is part of a work ; that in its plan it is conver-
sational; and that, if I had introduced stories exciting
TO CORRESPONDENT UNKNOWN 45
curiosity, and filled with violent conflicts of passion and a
rapid interchange of striking incidents, these things could
have never harmonized with the rest of the work ; and all
further discourse, comment, or reflections must have been
put a stop to. This I write for you, and not for your friend ;
with whom (if you would take my advice) you will neither
converse by letters, nor vive voce, upon a subject of which
she is in every respect disqualified to treat. Farewell . . .
W. W.
CCLXXV
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
New Year's Eve.
My dear Friend,
... I am encouraged by finding so much of your
letter devoted to The Excursion, ... I have neither
care nor anxiety, being assured that if it be of God, it
must stand ; and that if the spirit of truth, " the vision
and the faculty divine," be not in it, and do not pervade
it, it must perish. So let the wisest and best of the
present generation, and of posterity, decide the question.
Thoroughly indifferent as I am on this point, I will
acknowledge that I have a wish for the sale of the present
edition, partly to repay the expenses of our Scotch tour ;
and still more to place the book within reach of those
who can neither purchase nor procure it in its present
expensive shape. ... I smiled at your notice of Coleridge
reviewing The Excursion in the Ed} I much doubt whether
he has read three pages of the poem; and Jeffrey has
akeady printed off a review, beginning with these elegant
and decided words, " This will never do"; the sage critic
^ The Edinburgh Review. — Ed.
/
46 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
then proceeding to shew cause why this precious farce
is what the coxcomb's idolaters call a crushing review.
Therefore you see, as the evil spirits are rouzed, it becomes
the good ones to stir ; or what is to become of the poor
poet and his labours ?
I will now tell you, by way of chit-chat, the little that I
have heard of the reception of the poem. Dr. Parr (who,
you recollect, gave a proof of his critical acumen in the
affair of Ireland's MSS., which he pronounced to be "gen-
uine Shakespear") has declared that it is all but Milton ;
Dr. Johnson, a leading man of Birmingham, says that
there has been nothing equal to it since Milton's day.
Mr. Sergeant Bough has spoken to the same effect. The
Bishop of London ^ is in raptures ; the Duke of Devon-
shire made it his companion in a late jaunt to Ireland,
and was so much delighted that he frequently expressed
his sorrow that he missed me in his late visit to Lowther,
where I was expected about the same time. All the best
readers even in Edinburgh are enchanted with it. This
I had from a respected acquaintance who himself pur-
chased three copies. A gentleman of Derby unknown
to me pronounces it an admirably fine poem. A lady
of Liverpool, a Quaker, breaks through all forms of cere-
mony to express her gratitude by letter, which she does
in most enthusiastic terms. Charles Lamb (I cannot
overlook hini) calls it " the best of books " ; and lastly,
your son Tom sate up all night reading it. If this won't
satisfy you, I could give you a good deal more by rum-
maging my memory.
By way of per contra, I ought to tell you that the
renowned poet and critic, Anthony Harrison of facetious
1 Dr. William Howley. — Ed.
IN THE SAME LETTER 47
memory, and the whole family of Addison (certain proof
that the blood is adulterated, though the name continues
to be spelt as formerly), found The Excursion not unpen
but trhs pesant It was too low in the subjects for their
high-flying fancies. Perhaps you may not remember that
A. H. selected as a topic for his muse, the Bark House
Beck, so called from its collecting into its bosom all the
sweets of Jack Hendson's tan-yard. . . .
CCLXXVI
From Dorothy Wordsworth^ in the same letter
... As to the permanent fate of that poem^ or of
my brother's collected works, I have not the shadow of a
doubt I know that the good, and pure, and noble-minded
will in these days, and when we sleep in the grave,
be elevated, delighted, and bettered by what he has
performed in solitude, for the delight of his own soul,
independent of any lofty hope of being of service to his
fellow creatures. . . .
1 The Excursion. "Ed,
48 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
i8is
CCLXXVII
Williapt Wordsworth to Sir George Beaumont
Rydal Mount, February i, 1815.
My dear Sir George,
Accept my thanks for the permission given me to dedi-
cate these poems to you. In addition to a lively pleasure
derived from general considerations, I feel a particular
satisfaction; for, by inscribing them with your name, I
seem to myself in some degree to repay, by an appropri-
ate honour, the great obligation which I owe to one part
of the collection — as having been the means of first
making us personally known to each other. Upon much
of the remainder, also, you have a peculiar claim, — for
some of the best pieces were composed under the shade
of your own groves, upon the classic ground of Coleor-
ton ; where I was animated by the recollection of those
illustrious poets of your name and family, who were
born in that neighbourhood ; and, we may be assured,
did not wander with indifference by the dashing stream
of Grace Dieu, and among the rocks that diversify the
forest of Charnwood. Nor is there any one to whom
such parts of this collection as have been inspired or
coloured by the beautiful country from which I now
address you, could be presented with more propriety than
to yourself — who have composed so many admirable
TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT 49
pictures from the suggestions of the same scenery. Early
in life the sublimity and beauty of this region excited
your admiration ; and I know that you are bound to it in
mind by a still strengthening attachment.
Wishing and hoping that this work may survive as a
lasting memorial of a friendship, which I reckon among
the blessings of my life, I have the honour to be, my dear
Sir George,
Yours most affectionately and faithfully,
William Wordsworth.
CCLXXVIII
William Wordsworth to Thomas De Quincey
[Postmark, Feb. 8, 181 5.]
My dear Sir,
" W^en in his character of philosophical poet, having
thought of Morality as implying in its essence voluntary
obedience, and producing the effect of order, he trans-
fers — in the transport of imagination — the law of moral
to physical natures ; and, having contemplated, through
the medium of that order, all modes of existence as sub-
servient to one Spirit, concludes his address to the power
of Duty in the following words :
To humbler functions awful Power."
The above is the quotation.
I have sent to the printer another stanza to be inserted
in Laodamia after
While tears were thy best pastime day and night ;
(not a full stop, as before)
50 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
And while my youthful peers before my eyes
(Each hero following his peculiar bent)
Prepared themselves for glorious enterprise
By martial sports — or, seated in the tent,
Chieftains and things in council were detained ;
What time the fleet at Aulis lay enchained.
The wish*d-for wind was given : I then revolved our
future course,^ etc.
So, I fear it must be altered from the oracle, lest these
words should seem to allude to the other answer of the
oracle which commanded the sacrifice of Iphigenia. I
wish you had mentioned why you desired the rough copies
of the preface to be kept, as your request has led me to
apprehend that something therein might have appeared
to you as better or more clearly expressed than in the
after draught ; and I should have been glad to reinstate
accordingly. Pray write to us. We are all well.
CCLXXIX
William Wordsworth to R, P. Gillies
Rydal Mount, Feb. 17, 18 15.
My dear Sir,
. . . One of my engagements has been the writing of
an additional preface and a supplementary essay to my
poems. I have ordered Longman to send the book to
you as soon as printed. . . . You will find a few hits at
certain celebrated names of Scotland — I do not mean
persons now living — which may give great offence ; yet
not much, I think, to you. ... I confess I much prefer
the classical model of Dr. Beattie to the insupportable
^ See the poem Lctodamia^ 1. 122. — Ed.
TO R. P. GILLIES 5 1
slovenliness, and neglect of S3nitax and grammar, by
which Hogg's writings are disfigured.
. . . You advert in your notes to certain stores of
Highland character, incident, and manners, which have
been but slightly touched upon. Would it not be well to
collect these as materials for a poetic story, which, if you
would set yourself to work in good earnest, I am confi-
dent you could execute with effect ? Let me recommend
this to you, or to compose a romance founded on some
one of the many works of this kind that exist, as Wieland
has done in his Oberon ; not that I should advise such
a subject as he has chosen. You have an ear, and you
have a command of diction, a fluency of style, and I wish,
as your friend, that you would engage in some literary
labour that would carry you out of yourself, and be the
means of delighting the well-judging part of the world.
In what I said upon the setting down thoughts in prose,
I only meant briefly as memoranda to prevent their being
lost. It is unaccountable to me how men could ever pro-
ceed, as Racine (and Alfieri I believe) used to do, first
writing their plays in prose, and afterwards turning them
into verse. It may answer with so slavish a language
and so enslaved a taste as the French have, but with us
it is not to be thought of.
. . . Let me know if you continue in the mind of try-
ing the effect of Westmoreland air upon your spirits.
Air. Wilson has a charming little cottage at Elleray,
which, perhaps, he is not likely to make use of ; but this
you would find very lonely ; and it is several miles dis-
tant from us. I fear there would be some difficulty in
getting lodgings that would suit you; but the trial must
be made. The country is at present charming, the first
spring flowers peeping forth in the gardens wonderfully.
/
52 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I hope that you continue to like The Excursion, I
hear good news of it from many quarters. But its prog-
ress to general notice must be slow.
Have you read Lucien Bonaparte's epic ?^ I attempted
it, but gave in at the sixth canto, being pressed for time.
I shall, however, resume the labour, if opportunity offers.
But the first three stanzas convinced me that the author
was no poet. Farewell I Miss Hutchinson is still in
Wales. Mrs. Wordsworth begs her best regards.
Faithfully yours,
William Wordsworth.
CCLXXX
William Wordsworth to Thomas Poole
Rydal Mount, Ambleside,
March 13, 181 5.
My dear Poole,
A few days ago I was at Keswick, where I learned
that Hartley was to go to Oxford about Easter. Mrs.
Coleridge wished me to write to you and mention this,
and also that if it were not inconvenient to you, that the
;£*io which you were so kind as to offer, would be con-
venient at this time ; as she has not the means of fitting
him out, and she does not like to apply to his uncles in
the first instance. He is to go to Merton College, where
his cousins or uncles (I am not sure which) have pro- f
cured him an office, the title of it Postmaster, which is to j-
bring him in £^0 per annum, which with his uncle's ;f 40, |-
1 Prince Lucien Bonaparte (177 5-1 840), brother of Napoleon
Bonaparte, published in London an epic entitled Charlemagne^ two
volumes, 1814. — £d.
I
TO THOMAS POOLE 53
Lady B.'s £30^ and your ;^io, it is hoped will maintain
him. Cottle also allows £$ per annum; if more be
wanted, Southey and I must try to advance it. I have
done all in my power to impress upon H.'s mind the
necessity of not trusting vaguely to his talents, and to an
irregular sort of knowledge, however considerable it may
be in some particulars ; and of applying himself zealously
and perseveringly to those studies which the University
points out to him.* His prime object ought to be to gain
an independence ; and I have striven to place this truth
before his understanding in the clearest point of view;
and I took the opportunity of speaking to him on the
subject in the presence of his uncle Southey, who con-
firmed and enforced all that I said. So that if good
advice have any virtue in it, he has not been left unfur-
nished with it. Southey means to look out for a place in
some public office for Derwent ; he hopes to succeed in the
Exchequer where the situations are very good. Sara has
made great progress in Italian imder her mother ; and is
learning French and Latin. She is also instructed in music
by Miss Barker, a friend of Southey's, who is their near
neighbour ; so that should it be necessary she will be well
fitted to become a governess in a nobleman's or gentle-
man's family, in course of time ; she is remarkably
clever, and her musical teacher says that her progress
is truly astonishing. Her health unfortunately is but
delicate.
It was my intention to write to you if Mrs. C. had not
requested it, and I am happy to give this account of our
friend's children, who are all very promising. Neverthe-
less, I have some fears for Hartley, as he is too much
inclined to the eccentric. But it is our duty to hope for
the best Coleridge, we have learnt, is still with the
54 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Morgans, but removed from, the neighbourhood of Bath
to Colne or Cain in Wiltshire. His friends in this coun-
try hear nothing from him directly. A sister of my wife's,
who was staying at Bath, walked over to call upon him,
but found the family removed. His late landlady was
very communicative, and said that Mr. C. used to talk
with her of his children, and mentioned that his eldest
was going to college. So that you see he expects the
thing to take place, though he wished to put it off when
you conversed with him on the subject I rejoice to
hear of your thriving school. I have not yet seen your
relation's pamphlet which you recommend ; I have heard
it praised by others, and shall procure it.
If you have read my poem. The Excursion^ you will
there see what importance I attach to the Madras system.^
Next to the art of printing it is the noblest invention for
the improvement of the human species. Our population
in this neighbourhood is not sufficient to apply it on a
large scale ; but great benefit has been derived from it
even upon a small one. If you have read my poem, I
should like to have a record of your feelings during the
perusal, and your opinion afterwards ; if it has not deeply
interested you, I should fear that I had missed my aim in
some important particulars. I had the hope of pleasing
you in my mind during the composition in many parts,
especially those in which I have alluded to the influence
of the manufacturing spirit ; and in the pictures, in the
last book but one, which I have given of boys in different
1 So called from Dr. Andrew Bell (1793-1832), who was chaplain
and teacher at Madras. Owing to the want of assistant masters, he
invented a method of mutual instruction by the pupils ; and on his
return to England organized the educational system of pupil-teachers.
— Ed.
TO THOMAS POOLE • 55
situations in life, the boy of the manufacturer, of the yeo-
man, and the clergyman's and gentleman's son. If you
can conscientiously recommend this expensive work to
any of your wealthier friends, I will thank you, as I wish
to have it printed in a cheaper form, for those who cannot
afford to buy it in its present shape. And as it is in some
places a little abstruse, and in all serious, without any of
the modem attractions of glittering style, or incident to
provoke curiosity, it cannot be expected to make its way
without difficulty, and it is therefore especially incumbent
on those who value it to exert themselves in its behalf.
My opinion as to the execution of the minor parts of my
works is not in the hast altered. My poems are upon the
point of being republished, in two volumes octavo, with a
new preface and several additions, though not any pieces
of length. I should like to present you with a copy as a
testimony of my regard, if you would let me know where
you wish to have it sent ; or if you could call, or desire
anybody to call, for it at Longmans. Pray give me your
notions upon the Corn Laws, what restricted price you
think high enough. Some one seems indispensable.
Most faithfully yours,
W. Wordsworth.
CCLXXXI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
i6th March, [1815.]
My dear Friend,
. . . William had an interesting letter last night from
the " ingenuous poet " of Derby ^ whom he quotes in the
1 John Edwards, author of The Patriot Soldier (1784), Kathleen
(1808), Ahradates and Panthea (1808), etc. — £d.
56 • DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
Essay on Epitaphs, I will give you an extract from his
letter. He says : " I could not comply with your injunc-
tion not to purchase T?u Excursion^ etc., etc. I would
not now be without the book for twice its value."
He goes on to say that he had had a letter from his friend
Montgomery, the poet,^ from which he quotes as follows :
"The poem in my opinion — an opinion confirmed by
repeated perusals of it — is incomparably the greatest and
the most beautiful work of the present age of poetry ;
and sets Mr. W. beyond controversy above all the living,
and almost all the dead, of his fraternity.
I assure you that the spirit of that book, which I read
first at Scarborough in September, so possessed me that
I have scarcely yet recovered my relish for any other
modern verse. The peculiar harmony of rhythm, felicity
of language, and splendour of thought for a while made
all poor or feeble in comparison. I am gradually return-
ing to sober feelings, etc., etc."
This passage I think will interest you. Montgomery
was the author of ^ The Eclectic Review^ but though he
there speaks with profound respect and admiration, and
though he shews (which nobody else in the way of criti-
cism has done) that he is deeply sensible of the labour
and skill with which the poem has been wrought up, he
does not speak with the same feeling as in this private
letter, probably because in the Review he wrote under
another hand. . . .
1 James Montgomery, author of The Wanderers in Switzerland^
etc. (1806), The World before the Flood, etc. (18 13). — Ed.
2 She probably meant " of the article in The Eclectic Review^
— Ed.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 57
CCLXXXII
William Wordsworth to R, P,* Gillies
Rydal Mount, April 25, 1815.1
My dear Sir,
I think of starting for London in a few days, with Mrs.
Wordsworth, and as I wish to leave home with as clear a
conscience as I can, I sit down to atone for one of my of-
fences in not having replied sooner to your kind letter. . . .
You ought to have received my two volumes of poems
long before this, if Longman had done his duty. I ordered
a copy likewise to be sent to Walter Scott. I cannot but
flatter myself that this publication will interest you. The
pains which I have bestowed on the composition can never
be known but to myself, and I am very sorry to find, on
reviewing the work, that the labour has been able to do so
little for it. You mentioned Guy Mannering in your last.
I have read it. I cannot say that I was disappointed, for
there is very considerable talent displayed in the perform-
ance, and much of that sort of knowledge with which the
author's mind is so richly stored. But the adventures I
think not well chosen, or invented ; and they are still
worse put together ; and the characters, with the excep-
tion of Meg Merrilies, excite little interest. In the man-
agement of this lady the author has shown very consider-
able ability, but with that want of taste which is universal
among modem novels of the Radcliffe school ; which,
as far as they are concerned, this is. I allude to the
laborious manner in which everything is placed before
^ So it is dated in Gillies' book ; but Wordsworth was then in
London. The month was probably March. The mistake may be
either Wordsworth's or Gillies*. — Ed.
58 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
your eyes for the production of picturesque effect. The
reader, in good narration, feels that pictures rise up
before his sight, and pass away from it unostentatiously,
succeeding each other. But when they are fixed upon an
easel for the express purpose of being admired, the judi-
cious are apt to take offence, and even to turn sulky at the
exhibitor's officiousness. But these novels are likely to
be much overrated on their first appearance, and will
afterwards be as much undervalued. Waverley height-
ened my opinion of Scott's talents very considerably, and
if Mannering has not added much, it has not taken much
away. Infinitely the best part of Waverley is the pictures
of Highland manners at Mac Iver's castle, and the deline-
ation of his character, which are done with great spirit.
The Scotch baron, and all the circumstances in which he
is exhibited, are too peculiar and outrL Such caricatures
require a higher condiment of humour to give them a
relish, than the author of Waverley possesses. . . .
Excuse this dull and hasty letter, and believe me,
Most sincerely yours,
William Wordsworth.
CCLXXXIII
William Wordsworth to Basil Montagu
Kendal, May 3d, Friday Morning, [181 5.]*
My dear Montagu,
You will be perplexed by receiving three letters from
me. One was sent from Rydal yesterday, another in the
1 This letter was written on a half sheet of thin post paper, without
water mark ; the other sheet, containing the *' memorandum," having
doubtless been detached by Basil Montagu. The date is fixed by the
mention of Dorothy's age (44). It was written in 1815. — Ed.
;■«
j*^
I
TO BASIL MONTAGU 59
shape of a parcel this morning from Kendal, under an
expectation, which I find is erroneous, that it would be
delivered to you on Sunday. Since that letter was written
I have consulted an intelligent attorney here, and from
him I learn that the bond will be of no use to me for either
principal or interest (without an expensive process in
chancery), till Richard's son is of age, if Richard die
without a will providing for the payment. I therefore
beg you, as a friend and a man of business acting as my
representative^ to state to my brother that, under the pres-
ent circumstances, it is my duty to enforce upon him the
necessity of making and executing a will by which his
estates shall be charged with the payment, within a year
after his decease, of whatever sum shall be found due
from him to his sister and myself, from the estate of our
f father, or otherwise. I sincerely beg of you to see that
this is done immediately. My brother and I examined
the accounts together, and agreed upon everything relat-
4 ing to this, according to the memorandum attached to
I this, so that there can be no difficulty on this part of the
subject. I shall be most anxious till I hear from you
that this is done; for do think of my poor sister's
situation at present, forty-four years of age, and without
the command of either principal or interest of her little
property, in case Richard has not provided otherwise. I
will now repeat my thanks for your goodness to Richard.
You hint that a sale should have been made. It seems
as if there was reason to apprehend that dilatoriness may
still interfere. Surely Richard will be sensible of what
he owes to his own family, and to his father's. Farewell,
Affectionately yours,
W. Wordsworth.
6o WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCLXXXIV
William Wordsworth to John Scott
24 Edward Street, Cavendish Square,
May 14, 1 81 5.
Sir,
. . . During the earlier stages of the French Revolution
I resided upwards of twelve months in France, and have
since had some opportunities of studying the character of
that people : and the impressions then made upon my mind
place it out of my power to doubt whether the unfavour-
able picture which you draw of what they have now
become be unfavourable.
Thanking you for the pleasure and instruction which I
have received from your Visit to Paris^ I remain, with
great respect. ^^^^^jj^ ^^^^^^
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCLXXXV
William Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[Postmark, Kendal, 18 15.]
28th June, Wednesday.
My dear Friend,
. . . Upon the Ambleside coach this morning was
affixed a paper " Great News. Abdication of Buonaparte,"
but no particulars. Now I do not like the word abdica-
tion. What right has he to abdicate, or to have a word
to say in the business ? I am only afraid that the armies
have stopped too soon, as they did before. A few hours
will explain all, but I confess I dare not hope that matters
TO MRS. CLARKSON 6 1
will not be again mismanaged. The particulars of the
battle of the i8th are dreadful. The joy of victory is
indeed an awful thing, and I had no patience with the
tinkling of our Ambleside bells upon the occasion ; nor
with the Prince Regent's message, dictated as he says by
" serious consideration," recommending that further proofs
of the munificence of the people should be shewn to the
Duke of Wellington. It is perfectly childish to be in such
a bustle while even his own family ought to have been at
least paying the tribute of respectful tears to the memory
of the gallant Duke of Brunswick.
Eleven o'clock. Before I go to bed I must tell you that,
saving grief for the lamentable loss of so many brave men,
I have read the newspapers of to-night with unmingled
triumph ; and now I wait anxiously for Friday's post, to
know how our armies will proceed. So the abdication
was made to his own people 1 That is as it should be ;
and I hope he is now a safe prisoner, somewhere. . . .
CCLXXXVI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[Postmark, Kington.]
November nth, [1815.]
. . . He [William] wrote to me from Lowther Castle
on the 4th, and intended to return to Rydal on the 7th.
He was unlucky in not arriving at L. a few days earlier,
as the Duke of Devonshire had been there, and expressed
a g^eat desire to see him. He had just returned from
Ireland, where he had made The Excursion the companion
of his tour, and had been greatly pleased with it. I say
he was unfortunate, because his enemies will be busy
62 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
enough in the reviews, and elsewhere, and it is really of
no little importance to us that the work should sell, and
for another reason. He intends publishing The White
Doe in the spring, and the scene of that poem is Bolton
Abbey, the favourite (and much-admired by him) property
of the Duke of Devonshire. Perhaps you may not guess,
for I have but half explained myself, why I am sorry that
William did not see the Duke, on account of the sale of
The Excursion,
... I saw two sections of Hazlitt*s review at Rydal,
and did not think them nearly so well written as I should
have expected from him, though he praised more than I
should have expected. His opinion that all the charac-
ters are one character I cannot but think utterly false.
There seems to me to be an astonishing difference, con-
sidering that the primary elements are the same, fine
talents and strong imagination. He says that the narra-
tives are a clog upon the poem. I was not sorry to hear
it, for I am sure that with common readers those parts of
the poem will be by far the most interesting.
CCLXXXVII
William Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Rydal Mount, November 25th, 181 5.
My dear Friend,
. . . Luff^ was a genuine lover of his country, and a
true and enlightened friend of mankind. On this account
I think it right that his surviving friends should not
1 A Patterdale friend of the Wordsworth's and the Clarkson's.
See Dorothy Wordsworth's "Mountain Ramble*' (1805) in the
second volume of \\eiX Journals, p. 15, etc. — Ed.
TO MRS. CLARKSON 63
suffer him to pass out of the world, without a notice or
record of his worth, which may stand a chance of being
generally perused. The main difficulty lies in finding out
a channel for things of this kind. A notice in a news-
paper must be short; and those in the obituaries of
magazines are I fear little read, there being no maga-
zine existing which appears to be in general circulation.
What is your opinion of the best way of doing this .? . . .
CCLXXXVIII
William Wordsworth to Benjamin Robert Haydon
Rydal Mount, near Ambleside,
December 21st, 1815.
... I was much hurt to learn that you still suffer
much from weakness of sight, and continue to be impeded
in your labours by the same cause. Why did you not tell
me what progress you had made in your grand picture,
and how you are satisfied with your performance ? I am
not surprised to hear that Canova expressed himself
highly pleased with the Elgin Marbles ; a man must be
senseless as a clod, or as perverse as a fiend, not to be
enraptured with them. . . .
Now for the poems, which are sonnets ; one composed
the evening I received your letter, the other the next
day, and the third the day following ; I shall not tran-
scribe them in the order in which they were written, but
mversely.
The last you will find was occasioned, I might say
inspired, by your last letter, if there be any inspiration
in it ; the second records a feeling incited in me by the
object it describes in the month of October last, and the
64 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
first by a still earlier sensation which the revolution of
the year impressed me with last autumn.
[The three sonnets are then transcribed, viz. :]
I
While not a leaf seems faded ; while the fields, etc.
II
How clear, how keen, how marvellously bright, etc.
Ill
High is our calling, Friend 1 Creative Art, etc.
I wish the things had been better worthy of your accept-
ance, and of the careful preservation with which you will ^
be inclined to honour this little effusion of my regard.
With high respect, I am, my dear sir.
Most faithfully yours,
William Wordsworth.
CCLXXXIX
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs. Clarkson
23d December, [181 5.]
My dear Friend,
... In weather precisely of this kind, except that the
snow did not then lie thick upon the ground, on the |
shortest day of the year sixteen years ago, did William !
and I at five o'clock in the evening enter our cottage at
Grasmere. We found no preparations except beds, without
I-
TO MRS. CLARKSON 65
curtains, in the rooms upstairs, and a dying spark in the
grate of the gloomy parlour. Your entrance upon your
new house is not like this. . . .
William and I set forward upon a like journey, to
make the preparations necessary for a final settlement
with Richard. The weather was frosty without snow,
and I never in my youngest days, in the summer season,
had a more delightful excursion; except for the inter-
vention of melancholy recollections of persons gone,
never to return. We set off at one o'clock, walked over
Ku-kstone, and reached Patterdale by daylight ; slept
there, and rose early the next morning, determined to
walk to Hallsteads (Mr. Marshall's new house, built
upon Skelly Nab) before breakfast. The lake was calm
as a mirror, the rising sun tinged with pink light the
snow-topped mountains, and we agreed that all we saw
in the grander parts of the scene was more beautiful even
than in summer. At Hallsteads we breakfasted, and
rested till twelve o'clock. I parted from William at Red
Hills. He went to Sockbridge, and I proceeded to Pen-
rith, where I arrived at a little before three o'clock, with-
out the least fatigue. . . . My dear friend, have I not
reason to be thankful that my strength is thus continued
to me, and that my pleasure in walking remains as keen
as ever. . . .
66 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
CCXC
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Sunday, the last day of the old year, [1815.]
My dearest Friend,
. . . William and I were at Sockbridge. I have given
you the history of our journey in my letter to Playford.
We were favoured in weather for a whole week, and per-
formed the entire journey except about six miles on foot,
to our infinite satisfaction, pacing side by side along the
shores of UUswater, as we did years ago, when your hos-
pitable dwelling was the bourne to which we tended. . . .
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 67
1816
CCXCI
William Wordsworth to Francis Wrangham
Rydal Mount,
Thanksgiving Day, January, 18 16.
My dear Wrangham,
You have given an additional mark of that friendly dis-
position, and those affectionate feelings which I have long
known you to possess, by writing to me after my long and
unjustifiable silence. But as I have told you (though I
don't remember in these words), I was not bom with a
pen in my mouth, nor in my hands or toes. I am pain-
fully conscious how poor a genius I possess for episto-
lary communications ; and if I had any native flow of this
kind, my miserable penmanship would at once check it
How can such matters, and in such a garb, be worth any-
body's acceptance ? This is the interrogation which now
and always stares me in the face when I would converse
with my friends by means of paper and ink. Heaven
first taught letters for some wretch's aid, but presumptu-
ous indeed should I be if I were not assured that such
letters as my pen makes are excepted. Neither Cupid,
nor Minerva, nor Phoebus, nor Mercury, nor any of the
pagan gods who presided over liberal and kindly inven-
tions, deign to shed their influence over my endeavours
in this field. But may the goddess of patience support
68 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
you ; while you attempt in friendship to read, what I am
now preparing for the perplexity of your understanding,
and the annoyance of your eyesight.
Unluckily I have neither seen nor heard of your trans-
lation from Virgil. You have done well to amuse your-
self in this way; but the employment must have been
somewhat top difficult for mere pastime. The Eclogues
of Virgil appear to me, in that in which he was most
excellent, polish of style and harmony of numbers, the
most happily finished of all his performances. I know
that I shall be much gratified by your translation when
it finds its way to me, which I hope it will do soon.
Of T?u White Doe I have little to say, but that I hope
it will be acceptable to the intelligent, for whom alone it
is written. It starts from a high point of imagination,
and comes round through various wanderings of that fac-
ulty to a still higher ; nothing less than the apotheosis of
the animal, who gives the first of the two titles to the
poem. And as the poem thus begins and ends with pure
and lofty imagination, every motive and impulse that
actuates the persons introduced is from the same source.
A kindred spirit pervades, and is intended to harmonize,
the whole. Throughout, objects (the banner, for instance)
derive their influence not from properties inherent in
them, not from what they are actually in themselves, but
from such as are bestowed upon them by the minds of
those who are conversant with or affected by those
objects. Thus the poetry, if there be any in the work,
proceeds whence it ought to do, from the soul of man,
communicating its creative energies to the images of the
external world.
But too much of this. I am happy to hear that your
family prospers, and that your children are to your mind.
TO JOHN SCOTT 69
In my own I find much to regret, and something to com-
plain of ; faults most of which have probably been created
by my own mismanagement. I am, however, truly and
deeply thankful to God for what he has left me. Do not
imagine, dear Wrangham, that though I am a bad corre-
spondent, I therefore forget either you or my other early
friends. Farewell. I am always glad to hear of you.
Most faithfully yours,
W. Wordsworth.
CCXCII
William Wordsworth to John Scott^
Rydal Mount, near Ambleside,
February 22, 181 6.
My dear Sir,
Your Paris Revisited has been in constant use since I
received it — a very welcome sight it was. . . . Nothing
in your works has charmed us more than the lively man-
ner in which the painting of everything that passes before
your eyes is executed. Every one of your words tells;
and this is an art which few travellers, at least of our
days, are masters of. Your estimate of Buonaparte's
character is, I think, perfectly just. ... I wish that I
could think as favourably as you do of the Duke of Well-
ington. Since his first d^but in Portugal I have watched
his course as carefully as my opportunities allowed me to
do ; and notwithstanding the splendour of those actions
at the head of which he has been placed, I am convinced
that there is no magnanimity in his nature. You have
1 Editor of The Champion, — Ed.
70 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
laudably availed yourself of the temptation to contrast
his mode of proceeding with Buonaparte's ; and undoubt-
edly he appears to great advantage opposed to that auda-
cious charlatan and remorseless desperado. But depend
upon it, the constitution of his mind is not generous, nor
will he pass with posterity for a hero. One would desire
that in all cases the personal dignity of the prime agents
should correspond with that of important actions; but
this rarely happens in human affairs either military or
civil ; and I have found nothing more mortifying in the
course of my life than those peeps behind the curtain, that
have shown me how low in point of moral elevation stand
some of those men who have been the most efficient instru-
ments and machines for public benefit that our age has
produced. We live in inquisitive times, and there is but
too little reserve in gratifying public curiosity. Happy
will it be for this distinguished leader, and I will add for
his country, if his name be a gainer from the communica-
tions which his character and actions will give birth to !
I fear that upon the whole it will be otherwise ; and I
express this fear to you, who from the best motives have
so ably defended and paneg)rrized him, with strong regret;
but sincerity requires it.^ . . .
This personal question is the only material point in
your books in which I differ from you. I approve of all
that you have said upon the subject of the removal of the
works of art from Paris. The Emperor of Russia was
the main cause of their being left in French possession
by the first peace. His is a Frenchified intellect — to
that degree that it was not without much difficulty he
gave his consent, on the first occupation of Paris, to the
1 Wordsworth's unfavourable estimate of " the Great Duke " was
modified in after years. — £d.
TO JOHN SCOTT 7 1
King of Prussia removing his own cannon which he found
there. The calamities of these times, as far as they were
occasioned by the domination of the French, have been
mainly owing to this, that they . . . never ventured upon
an entire reliance on those rules of justice which were
alone competent to save them. Had they been capable
of this elevation of mind, a moment's reflection would
have shown them that they had no right to confirm to the
French the possession of these articles without the free
unbiased consent of the original owners ; that they were
not lawful conquests but infamous plunder ; and the allies
by taking upon themselves to concede these things to
the robbers, acted not less unjustly, whatever were their
motives, than the original despoiler. ... It is the duty
of an English Opposition to be rigorously hostile to the
Ministry, but never let their endeavours to accomplish
the downfall of their political antagonists excite in them
a favourable aspiration for the enemies of their country.
The Opposition party were unable to discern that a time
of war and a time of peace required very different modes
of proceeding on their part; that a style of hostility,
which would have been laudable in the one, became
detestable in the other. Through the whole course of
the late war the party out of power blushed not to behave
as if they had been retained by Buonaparte for his advo-
cates. This was unsupportably revolting to all true-
hearted Englishmen, who were not actively engaged in
the contest, and could therefore see clearly and feel nat-
urally. ... I will only add a word on Spanish affairs.
The Cortes were what Lord Castlereay describes them,
and worse. They thirsted after the independence of
their country, and many of them nobly laboured to effect
it ; but, as to civil liberty and religious institutions, their
72 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
notions were as wild as the most headstrong Jacobins of
France. Their plan was to erect an Iberian Republic —
and they were pushing matters desperately to that extrem-
ity. Think of a Republic in Spain — what horror to go
through before such a thing could be brought about ; and
what worse than horrors would have attended its rapid
destruction ! Farewell.
Most faithfully and respectfully yours,
W. Wordsworth.
CCXCIII
William Wordsworth to John Scott
Rydal Mount, Feb. 25th, [18 16.]
My dear Sir,
Most readily would I undertake the office which you
propose to me, but for a reason which I am sure you will
think sufficient for my declining it for a short while at
least. I am myself engaged with an attempt to express
in verse some feelings connected with these very sub-
jects ; ^ and, till that engagement is over, neither in jus-
tice to you or to myself can I introduce into my own
mind such a stream as I have no doubt your poem will
be felt to be. . . . My short essays, for there are two
pieces,^ cannot possibly interfere with your work, as they
stand at a distance from the body of the subject, which I
do not doubt will be ably embraced by others. Southey
is a fellow-labourer. I have seen but little of his per-
formance, but that little gave me great pleasure. . . .
^ Doubtless the TTianksgiving Ode^ and its sequel. — Ed.
TO JOHN SCOTT 73
... I am glad that you have read my tract occasioned
hy the Convention of Cintra. You must have seen there-
in what my views were, and are, for in nothing are my
principles changed. In verse I celebrated the king of
•Sweden. He proved, I believe, a madman. What mat-
ters that ? He stood forth as the only royal advocate, at
that time, of the only truths by which, if judiciously
applied, Europe could be delivered from bondage. I
Seized on him as an outstanding object in which to
embody certain principles of action, which human nature
has thousands of times proved herself capable of being
governed by. I boldly announced in prose the benefit
nrhich Spain would derive from a Cortes, but I was under
\ considerable mistake as to the degree in which the men
Birho might compose it would be liable to French delu-
sions. But a representative legislature is still in my opin-
ion the best of political blessings when a country has
tnaterials fit to compose it. Such had Spain for the pur-
pose of achieving her national independence ; and I hope
may have, ere long, to establish for herself a frame of
dvil liberty. ' The late Cortes were not equal to that task.
AlS to the Duke of Wellington, poetically treated he may
pass for a hero ; and on that account I less regret what
I wrote to you. But to the searching eye of the histo-
rian, and still more of the biographer, he will, I appre-
hend, appear as a man below the circumstances in which
he moved. . . .
Farewell. With much regard and increasing respect,
I remain yours, ^ ^
74 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCXCIV
William Wordsworth to John Scott
Rydal Mount, March nth, 1816.
My dear Sir,
I wrote to you some little time since giving my reasons
why I felt myself obliged to decline the undertaking which
you did me the honour of proposing to me. Those reasons
no longer exist; and I now write to let you know that
having finished all that at present I have any intention of
executing in connection with the great events of our time,
I shall be happy to comply with your request, if you con-
tinue in the same mind.
When I wrote the sonnets inserted in The Champion^ I
had no design of doing anything more. But I could not
resist the temptation of giving vent to my feelings as
collected in force upon the morning of the day appointed
for a general thanksgiving. Accordingly, I threw off a
sort of irregular ode upon this subject, which spread to
nearly 350 lines ; the longest thing of the lyrical kind, I
believe, except Spenser's Epithalatnion^ in our language.
Out of this have sprung several smaller pieces, — effusions
rather than compositions, — though in justice to myself I
must say that upon the correction of the style I have
bestowed, as I always do, great labour. I hope that my
pains in this particular have not been thrown away, and
that in their several degrees the things will not be found
deficient in spirit. But I do not like to appear as giving
encouragement to a lax species of writing, except where
the occasion is so great as to justify an aspiration after
a state of freedom beyond what a succession of regular
stanzas will allow. But, as I before hinted, these smaller
TO JOHN SCOTT 75
pieces are but offsets of the larger; and their defects in
this point may be charged upon their parent, though I
shall not call upon the public to be so indulgent. From
my country I solicit no mercy. I have laboured intensely
to merit its approbation, and in some smaller degree to
secure (in future times at least) its gratitude; and for
the present I am well contented with my portion of dis-
tinction. If I wish for more, I can honestly affirm it is
mainly from a belief that it would be an indication that a
better taste was spreading, and high and pure feelings
I becoming more general.
In regard to your own announced adventure upon the
sea of poetry, I may truly say that I was most glad to
hear of it; because your prose has convinced me that
you have a mind fitted to ensure success. Nevertheless
H my pleasure was not absolutely pure ; for if you have not
^' practised metre in youth, I should apprehend that your
f thoughts would not easily accommodate themselves to
f those chains, so as to give you a consciousness that you
were moving under them and with them, gracefully and
with spirit. I question not that you have written with
rapidity ; nothing is more easy ; but in nothing is it more
true than in composing verse that the nearest way home
is the longest way about. In short I dreaded the labour
which you were preparing for yourself. You are a master
of prose ; and your powers may be so flexible and fertile
as to be equal to both exercises, — so much the better !
I mean equal to them without injury to your health. But
should it appear to me that the specimen you send of your
poem requires additional care and exertion, I shall not
scruple to tell you so ; and with the less reluctance because
I am confident that you may attain eminence in English
prose which few of late have reached.
76 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
That field is at present almost uncultivated ; we have
adroit living writers in abundance ; but impassioned,
eloquent, and powerful ones not any, at least that I am
acquainted with. Our prose, taking it altogether, is a
disgrace to the country. I ought to apologize for putting
your patience to the test by these wretched scrawls. But
take me as I am. . . . Would you object to see my Thanks-
giving Ode, etc., before publication ? If not, they will be
sent you, and I should be grateful for your remarks.
P.S. — I fear what I have said on prose, as now produced,
may be misunderstood. Charles Lamb, my friend, writes
prose exquisitely; Coleridge also has produced noble pas-
sages ; so has Southey. But I mean there is no body of
philosophical, impassioned, eloquent, finished prose now
produced.
Your publisher must have been negligent, for a second
copy of your Paris Revisited^ has reached me !
CCXCV
William Wordsworth to John Scott
Rydal Mount, March 21, [18 16.]
My dear Sir,
I had packed up my little pieces of verse, intending
to send them to you ; but on second thoughts, I have
forwarded them direct to Longman, knowing that you are
so much engaged ; and apprehending that you might not
possibly be at home, which would have occasioned a delay.
I was also desirous that the eifect of my verses upon you
1 Paris Revisited in iSiSt by Way of Brussels ; including a Walk
over the Field of Waterloo (1816). He had issued (in 1815) A Visit
to Paris in 1814* — Ed.
f
TO JOHN SCOTT 77
should not be interfered with by a blotted and blurred
AiSS.y and by uncouth characters, irresistibly distracting
attention. I shall be not the less anxious for the benefit of
youT remarks after publication. I have not yet received
my MSS. from you. In the same parcel I have sent for
publication a letter in prose, to a friend of Burns, the poet,
irhich I hope you will read with some satisfaction.
No doubt you are personally acquainted with Brough-
im ; I have some knowledge of him likewise. Our last
Interview was terminated among the majestic woods of
Lowther, near his own beautiful residence. Thither I
would gladly remit him, " inter sylvas academi quaerere
v^rum." ^ Mr. B. is not content with scribbling in the
Edinburgh Review to the praise and glory of the Corsican,
but he must insult the people of England by expressing in
their House of Legislature, and that of the three kingdoms,
his hope that that great man may be kindly treated in his
insular prison. What is there in the conduct of this
government that justifies an apprehension that the claims
of humanity will not be attended to by it in this case ;
though if there ever existed one in which those claims
might be set aside, it is the present. Be persuaded,
my dear sir, that men who in that assembly, or indeed
anywhere else, can talk in this manner have no tact, and
whatever may be their cleverness, no intellectual sanity.
I congratulate you on having expressed in your last
Champion a decided opinion on this subject. Haydon
has done himself credit by his essay on the Elgin
Marbles.^ . . .
* Horace, Epistolae, Lib. TI, ep. ii, 1. 45. — Ed.
* 77ie Judgment of Connoisseurs upon Works of Art compared with
that of Professional Men, in reference more particularly to the Elgin
Marbles (i8i6).--Ed.
78 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
CCXCVI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
4th April, [i8i6.]^
My dear Friend,
... It grieves me to think how the childhood of these
dear children passes away and you see nothing of them.
Dorothy is now in her twelfth year, and John will be thir-
teen years in June. She is lively, affectionate, and quick
in faculties ; but is often wayward and has fits of obstinacy
with pride. Of vanity she has little or none, and is utterly
free from envy. She is a fine-looking girl ; but at times
her face is very plain, at other times it i3 even beautiful.
She is rather stout and tall, but neither in the extreme,
holds her head up well, has a broad chest, and good
shoulders, but walks and runs most awkwardly.
John is much improved since he went to Mr. Dawes as
a boarder, and his father hopes he will be a decent scholar
in time. He is a noble, ingenuous-looking boy, and is
thoroughly sweet-tempered, beloved by all his school-
fellows, and respected by them for his integrity. Little
Willy (I am glad to give him that title, for it makes me
sad sometimes when I think how we are losing the others
as children) is a very sweet and interesting child ; a
happy mixture of tenderness and infantine simplicity, with
liveliness, ardent curiosity, and great quickness. He is
backward at his books, for he has only just begun to learn
at all; but he is now under a new master, his father's
clerk, and his progress is very rapid. All at once under
him he became steady, whereas his mother, his aunt Sarah,
and I, have all by turns undertaken him, and we could
1 The year can be fixed from the children's ages. — Ed.
TO MRS. CLARKSON 79
Hiake nothing out. The lesson was the signal for yawn-
ing, and for perpetual motion in one part of the body or
another. ...
CCXCVII
William Wordsworth to R, P, Gillies
Rydal Mount, April 9, 18 16.
My dear Sir,
. . . Mr. De Quincey has taken a fit of solitude; I
have scarcely seen him since Mr. Wilson left us. You
are very obliging in having taken so much trouble about
so slight a thing as the sonnet of mine you sent me. It
is not worth whiJe to tell you by what circuitous channel
it found its way into The Examiner, a journal which I
never see, though I have great respect for the talent of
its editor. In The Champion, another weekly journal,
have appeared not long since five sonnets of mine, all of
which are much superior to the one which you have sent
me. They will form part of a publication which I sent
to the press three weeks ago, which you have been given
to understand was a long work, but it is in fact very
short, not more than seven hundred verses altogether.
The principal poem is three hundred lines long, a Thanks-
giving Ode, and the others refer almost exclusively to
recent public events. The whole may be regarded as a
sequel to the sonnets dedicated to liberty, and accordingly
I have given directions for its being printed uniform with
my poems to admit of its being bound up also with them.
I have also sent to press a letter in prose, occasioned by
an intended republication of Dr. Currie's Life of Bums,
When these little things will be permitted to see the light
8o WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I know not ; and as the publisher has not even conde-
scended to acknowledge the receipt of the manuscripts,
which were sent three weeks ago, you may judge from
this of the value which the goods of the author of The
Excursion at present bear, in the estimation of the trade.
N^itnporte; if we have done well, we shall not miss our
reward. Farewell !
Yours faithfully,
William Wordsworth.
CCXCVIII
William Wordsworth to R, P, Gillies
Rydal Mount, April 15, 1816.
. . . Gray failed as a poet, not because he took too much
pains, and so extinguished his animation, but because he
had very little of that fiery quality to begin with, and his
pains were of the wrong sort. He wrote English verses
as his brother Eton schoolboys wrote Latin, filching a
phrase now from one author and now from another. I
do not profess to be a person of very various reading;
nevertheless, if I were to pluck out of Gray's tail all the
feathers which I know belong to other birds, he would be
left very bare indeed. Do not let anybody persuade you
that any quantity of good verses can be produced by
mere felicity ; or that an immortal style can be the growth
of mere genius. " Multa tulit fecitque " ^ must be the motto
of all those who are to last. There are poems now existing
which all the world ran after at their first appearance,
and it will continue to run after their like, that do not
deserve to be thought of as literary works ; everything in
1 Horace, De Arte Poetica^ 1. 413. — Ed.
TO R. P. GILLIES 8 1
being merely skin-deep as to thought and feeling,
uncture or suture of the composition not being a jot
cunning or more fitted for endurance than the first
ning together of fig-leaves in Paradise. But I need
>Tess upon you the necessity of labour, as you have
ed your conviction upon this subject. . . . Pray
mber me to the Wilsons most kindly. When does
Wilson return to Westmoreland? I have not yet
his City of the Plague; the more the pity, for I
rel with the title. Tell Mr. Wilson this from me, and
it the two following quotations :
But whate'er enjoyments dwell
In the impenetrable cell
Of the silent heart which Nature
Furnishes for every creature ;
this —
Cock-a-doodle doc,
My dame has lost her shoe ;
My master 's lost his fiddle-stick,
And knows not what to do !
ixewell.
With great regard and esteem, yours,
William Wordsworth.
CCXCIX
William Wordsworth to John Scott
Rydal Mount, Thursday, April i8th, 1816.
iear Sir,
. . With very deep concern did I read your account
Irs. Scott. ... I know not in what situation this
r may find you ; but if your prospects have bright-
l, which I pray God they may have done, it will not
82 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
be indifferent to you to be told that these lines are traced
by the hand of one who will rejoice in your joy ; and if
sorrow is to be your portion, be assured that under this
roof there is more than one heart that will feel for you in
a degree which is rare, where personal intercourse unfor-
tunately has been so inconsiderable. . . .
There is such a striking coincidence between your
opinions and mine, as to all the fundamentals of politics
and morals, that I do not- think it possible that there can
really be much difference between us upon the point of
the merits of the Opposition. The nation is interested in
this question under two points of view. How are they
likely to demean themselves while out of place, and, what
good would they do if inf For my own part, suppos-
ing the latter event to happen, — which I do not think by
any means to be desired, — I own that my chief reliance
would be, not upon their wisdom, but on the salutary
restraint which a change of situation would impose upon
their opinions, and in the favourable alteration which
would be wrought in their passions by the kindly mould-
ing of new circumstances. . . . Suppose the Opposition
as a body, or take them in classes, and let your imagina-
tion carry them in procession through Westminster Hall,
and thence let them pass into the adjoining Abbey, and
give them credit for feeling the utmost and best that they
are capable of feeling in connection with these venerable
and sacred places, and say frankly whether you would be
at all satisfied with the result. Imagine them to be look-
ing from a green hill over a rich landscape, diversified
with spires and church towers and hamlets, and all the
happy images of English landscape, would they have
becoming reverence of the English character? and do
they value as they ought — and even as their opponents
TO JOHN SCOTT 83
do — the constitution of the country, in Church and
State. . . . But I must stop. Let me only say one word
upon Lord £. The man is insane; and will probably
end his career in a mad-house. . . . The verses on his
private affairs excite in me less indignation than pity.
The latter copy is the Billingsgate of Bedlam. ..." Sine
dementia nullus Phcebus " ; but what a difference between
the amabilis insania of inspiration, and the fiend-like
exasperation of these wretched productions. It avails
nothing to attempt to heap up indignation upon the heads
of those whose talents are extolled in the same breath.
The true way of dealing with these men is to shew
that they want genuine power; that talents they have,
but that these talents are of a mean order; and that
their productions have no solid basis to rest upon. Allow
them to be men of high genius, and they have gained
their point and will go on triumphing. Demonstrate
them to be what in truth they are — in all essentials,
dunces — and I will not say that you will reform them ;
but, by abating their pride, you will strip their wicked-
ness of the principal charm in their own eyes. . . .
Affectionately yours, „, „,
W. Wordsworth.
ccc
William Wordsworth to Robert Southey
Friday, Rydal Mount.
My dear Friend,
Miss Hutchinson informs us that both you and Mrs.
Southey support yourselves under your loss ^ with admi-
rable fortitude. I need not say what a consolation it is
^ Southey's son Herbert died on the 17th of April, 18 16. — Ed.
84 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
to me to learn this. You will indeed stand in need of
resignation and patience, and all the passive virtues.
These will not desert you, because in your mind they will
be supported by faith and hope, without whose assist-
ance I think it utterly impossible for a good man of a
tender heart to bear up under an affliction so heavy as
yours.
Whether I look back or forward I sorrow for you, but
I doubt not that in time your retrospective thoughts will
be converted into sweet though sad pleasures ; and, as to
your prospective regards in connection with this dear
child, as they will never stop short of another and a more
stable world, before them your disappointments will melt
away ; but they will make themselves felt, as they ought
to do, since it will be for a salutary purpose. . . . Fare-
well; and the God of mercy and love sustain you, and
your partner. Most faithfully and affectionately,
Your friend and fellow sufferer,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCI
William Wordsworth to John Scott
May 14, [1 8 16.]
My dear Sir,
. . . Some years ago I wrote at length upon the sub-
ject of the military and civil character to Colonel Pasley,
author of the Essay on the Military Policy of this Island,
. . . Scientific military establishments, upon a scale pro-
portioned to the necessary size of our army, are, I thmk,
indispensable in the present state of Europe. To say
nothing of the plea of humanity, nothing of national
TO JOHN SCOTT 85
reputation for military efficiency, the state of the ^nances
of the country will not allow us time, in a future war, if
one should break out, to re-acquire the degree of military
skill which can alone ensure success, if we should suffer
our present knowledge to languish for want of due care
in keeping it up. Poverty would compel us to give in
long before we had accomplished anything important for
the relief of the party whose interest we had espoused.
Unquestionably, if the inevitable consequence of keeping
up those institutions is to be the impairing of our civil
energy, let them perish. But I cannot see that this need
follow. . . .
CCCII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[Postmark, Kendal.]
Sunday, 26th May, [1816.]
My dear Friend,
. . . Sara Coleridge is much improved in health and
strength, and is much grown. She is a delightful scholar,
having so much pleasure in learning. I know no greater
pleasure than to instruct a girl who is so eager in the
pursuit of knowledge as she is. Often do we wish that
Dorothy was like her in this respect, half like her would do
very well ; for with all Dorothy's idleness, there are many
parts of her character which are much more interesting
than corresponding ones in Sara ; therefore, as good and
evil are always mixed up together, we should be very
contented with a moderate share of industry, her talents
being quite enough. But I am perhaps misleading you.
I have no fault to find with Sara in anything; but yet
there is a something, which made me make the observation
— a want of power to interest you — not from anything
86 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
positively amiss, but she wants the wild graces of nature.
Edith ^ is a delightful girl — scholar good enough — and
to me very engaging. I hope you got my brother^s Odes^
etCy the Letter on Bums, All are gone to church, but
me. . . .
CCCIII
William Wordsworth to John, Scott
Rydal Mount, Tuesday, June ii, [1816.]
My dear Sir,
I am only just returned after more than a we.ek's
absence upon painful and anxious business, which has
devolved upon me as trustee under the will of my eldest
brother, recently deceased. He has left an only child, a
boy sixteen months old, and a widow not twenty-seven
years, and though his property is considerable, yet the
affairs are in an intricate and perplexed situation, so that
much of my time and more of my thoughts will in future
be taken up by them; and I need scarcely say to you
that I am wholly inexperienced in things of this kind.
But to return to your situation and prospects. My best
wishes will follow you to the Continent, and I shall be
anxious to hear that your hopes keep their ground and
strength from the influence of a milder climate. I have
no doubt that the world will be benefited by your obser-
vations abroad ; yet in a public point of view I cannot
but regret your departure from your own country. It
would give me pleasure could I say that I have any
acquaintances in the literary world, through whom I
could hope to aid you in disposing of The Champion, It
will be very difficult, I fear impossible, to place the work
1 Edith Southey. — Ed.
TO JOHN SCOTT 87
ch hands as would support its present reputation,
you have resigned the management of it ; and there-
'. cannot but think you judge well and prudently in
desirous to sf// the property, rather than entrust it
editor or partner during your absence. But I have
single acquaintance except Southey, to whom it
1 be advisable even to make known your intentions ;
lere is a disadvantage, as well as an advantage, in
:ity upon occasions of this sort. . . . The queries
ut to me upon the connection between genius and
larity of conduct may probably induce me to take
5 subject again, and yet it scarcely seems necessary,
lan can claim indulgence for his transgressions on
:ore of his sensibilities, but at the expense of his
for intellectual powers. All men of ^rst rate
> have been as distinguished for dignity, beauty,
ropriety of moral conduct. But we often find the
ies and qualities of the mind not well balanced ;
hing of prime importance is left short, and hence
sion and disorder. On the one hand it is well that
s should not arrogate to themselves a pharisaical
ority, because they avoid the vices and faults which
»ee men of talent fall into. They should not be
tted to believe that they have more understanding
f on that account, but should be taught that they
eserved probably by having less feeling, and being
ijuently less liable to temptation. On the other hand,
an of genius ought to know that the cause of his
is, in fact, his deficiencies, and not, as he fondly
les, his superfluities and superiorities. All men
to be judged with charity and forbearance after
has put it out of their power to explain the motives
ir actions, and especially men of acute sensibility
88 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
and lively passions. This was the scope of my letter to
Mr. Gray.^ Burns has been cruelly used, both dead and
alive. The treatment which Butler and others have
experienced has been renewed in him. He asked for
bread — no, he did not ask it, he endured the want of it
with silent fortitude — and ye gave him a stone. It is
worse than ridiculous to see the people of Dumfries com-
ing forward with their pompous mausoleum, they who
persecuted and reviled him with such low-minded malig-
nity. Burns might have said to that town when he was
dying, " Ingrata — non possidebis ossa mea ! " * On this
and a thousand other accounts his monument ought to
have been placed in or near to Edinburgh ; " stately Edin-
burgh throned on crags." • How well would such an edi-
fice have accorded with the pastoral imagery near St
Anthony's Well and under Arthur's Seat, while the metrop-
olis of his native country, — to which his writings have
done so great honour — with its murmuring sounds, was in
distinct hearing ! . . .
I must not conclude without a word upon politics. . . .
I will not at present recur to our military disagreement,
further than to repeat the expression of my own belief,
that no danger to the civil liberties of the country — in
the present state of public information, and with our
present means of circulating truth — is to be appre-
hended from such scientific military establishments as
appear to be eligible. And surely you will allow that
martial qualities are the natural efflorescence of a healthy
1 See A Letter to a Friend of Robert Burns (1816). — Ed.
^ Scipio Africanus (234-183 B.C.) ordered these words to be carved
on his tomb in Campania ; and Luis de Camoens, the Portuguese
poet, on leaving his native country, is credited with having said,
" Ingrata patria, non possidebis ossa mea." — Ed.
• See The Excursion^ Book IV, 1. 913. — Ed.
TO JOHN SCOTT 89
state of society. All great politicians seem to have
been of this opinion ; in modern times Machiavel, Lord
Brooke, Sir Philip Sydney, Lord Bacon, Harrington, and
lastly Milton, whose tractate of education^ never loses
sight of the means of making man perfect, both for con-
templation and action, for civil and military duties. But
you are persuaded that if you take care of our civil privi-
leges, they will generate all that can be needed of warlike
excellence ; and here only we differ. My opinion is that
much of immediate fitness for warlike exploit may co-exist
with a perfect security of our rights as citizens. Nay, I
will go farther, and affirm that tendencies to degradation
in our national chivalry may be counteracted by the
existence of those capabilities for war in time of peace.
But this point I do not wish to press. War we shall
have, and I fear shortly — and alas I we are little fit to
undertake it. At present there is nothing relating to
politics, on which I should so much like to converse with
you, as the conduct which it is desirable that the king of
France should pursue. The French nation is less fitted
than any other to be governed by moderation. Nothing
but heat and passion will have any sway with them.
Things must pass with them, as they did with us, in the
first and second Charles's time, from one extreme to the
other. Something to this effect is thrown out in a late
number of The Courier ; and I confess I have myself been
long of that opinion. The reforming Royalists in Charles
the First's time vanished before the Presbyterians, they
before the Independents, they before the Army, and the
Army before Cromwell ; then things ran to the oppoK
site extreme, with a force not to be resisted. Louis
the Eighteenth stands as the successor of Cromwell,
1 0/ Educatiofty to Master Samuel Hartlib, — Ed.
\
90 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
and not like our Revolution William. The throne of a
James-the-Second Louis cannot I fear stand, but by the
support of the passions of an active portion of his sub-
jects ; and how can such passions be generated but by
deviation into what a moderate man would call ultra-
royalist. Justice in the settlement of affairs has been
cruelly disappointed, and this feeling it is which gives
strength and a seeming reasonableness to these passions.
The compromises once were intolerable. ... .
CCCIV
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, near Ambleside, August 2d, 18 16.
My dear Sir,
It gave me much pleasure to see your friend Mr. Cargill,
though I am sorry to say that his looks and appearance
were so much altered by delicate not to say bad health
that I did not at first recollect him. In fact he had found
himself so far untuned on his arrival at Kendal as to deem
it advisable to halt there for two days ; and in consequence
of this consumption of his time he could only spare one
day for this neighbourhood, being anxious to reach Edin-
burgh as quickly as possible. I need not say that I found
his manners and conversation answer the promises of your
introductory letter, and that I parted from him with regret,
which was not a little increased by an impression upon my
mind that rest would have been a better thing for him than
Edinburgh bustle, or a fatiguing and harassing journey
among the bad and widely-parted inns of the Highlands.
The hope of seeing you here is very grateful to me ;
and upon a supposition that you propose to take some
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 91
pains in seeing the country I will proceed to give you
directions for doing it to the best advantage. From
London to Manchester, thence to Lancaster (the castle is
extremely well worth your notice). At this town, instead
of proceeding by the coach to Kendal, enquire about the
best mode of crossing the sands to Ulverston ; a coach
used to go, but whether it runs now or not, I cannot say.
Of course you must take care to cross these sands at a
proper time, or you will run a risk of being drowned, a
catastrophe to which I would not willingly be instru-
mental. At Ulverston you will be within seven or eight
miles of the celebrated abbey of St Mary's, commonly
called Fumess abbey. These ruins are very striking, and
in an appropriate situation. If you should think it worth
while to go and see Furness, the best way would be for
you and your friend to hire a chaise, as by so doing you
would preserve your strength, and need only consume
three hours in the expedition.
Should you not deem this right (for you would have to go
and come back by the same way), you will proceed straight
from Ulverston to Coniston Water, by Penny Bridge where
there is a decent inn ; and at the head of Coniston Lake
a very good one, delightfully situated. If so inclined, you
might pass a whole day very pleasantly there ; the morn-
ing rowing upon the water, the afternoon walking up and
through Yew-dale into Tilberthwaite, by a house called the
Yew-tree, and up a road which will land you near another
farm-house called Tarn-Haws. At a point in this road
you will suddenly come upon a fine prospect of Coniston
Lake, looking down it. From Coniston to Hawkshead.
At Hawkshead walk up into the churchyard, and notice
below you the school-house, which has sent forth many
northern lights, and among others your humble servant.
92 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
From Hawkshead proceed to the ferry-house upon Win-
dermere, and less than a quarter of a mile before you
reach it, stop, and put yourself under the guidance of an
old woman, who will come out to meet you if you sing or
call for her at a fantastic sort of gateway, an appurtenance
to a pleasure-house of that celebrated patriot Mr. Curwen,
called the Station. The Ferry inn is very respectable, and
that at Bowness excellent. Cross at the ferry, and pro-
ceed by Bowness up the lake towards Ambleside. You will
pass Low-wood, an excellent inn also, but here you would
be within four miles of Rydal Mount, where I shall be
most happy to see you and furnish you with a bed as long
as you like ; but I am sorry to say it will not be in my
power to accommodate your friend, who nevertheless shall
be welcome for your sake. Hence you will hear from
this direction I shall do everything in my power to be
at home when you come ; but many engagements 'have
devolved upon me in consequence of the lamented death
of my brother,^ and some I fear are too likely to press
upon me about the time of your intended visit.
The road I have chalked out is much the best for com-
mencing the tour, but few take it The usual way is to
come on directly to Kendal, but I can assure you that this
deviation from the common course will amply repay you.
I am glad that you were pleased with my verses.
They were poured out with much feeling, but from mis-
management of myself the labour of making some verbal
corrections cost me more health and strength than any-
thing of that sort I ever did before. I have written
nothing since. As to publishing, I shall give it up, as
nobody will buy what I send forth ; nor can I expect it,
^His brother Richard, attorney-at-law, died May 19, 18 16. — Ed.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 93
seeing what stuff the public appetite is set upon. As to
your advice about To a Ruin^ that subject we will talk of
when we meet My whole soul was with those who were
resolved to fight it out with Buonaparte ; and my heart of
hearts set against those who had so little confidence in
the power of justice as to be ready at any moment to
accept of such a truce, as under the name of peace he
might condescend to bestow. For the personal character
of the present mihistry, with the exception of Lord Har-
rowby, I cannot say to you that I have any high respect,
but I do conscientiously believe that they have not been
wanting in efforts to economize, and that the blame of
unnecessary expenditure rests with the Prince Regent.
Adieu. ^ . , ^ „
Faithfully yours, ,„ „,
^ ^ W. Wordsworth.
The ladies under my roof have you in best regards and
remembrance.
My brother desires me to add that . . . halting at Con-
iston, and the deviations from the common track, must
depend upon the length of time which you have to spare.
I shall be very glad to see you again.
CCCV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[Postmark, Kendal.]
Tuesday, 15 th August, 18 16.
My dear Friend,
. . . We shall never grow rich; for I now perceive
clearly that till my dear brother is laid in his grave, his
writings will not produce any profit. This I now care
94 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
nothing about, and shall never more trouble my head
concerning the sale of them. I once thought The White
Doe might have helped off the others ; but I now perceive
it can hardly help itself. It is a pity it was published in
so expensive a form, because some are thereby deprived of
the pleasure of reading it ; but however cheap his poems
might be, I am sure that it will be very long before they have
an extensive sale. Nay, it will not be while he is alive to
know it. God be thanked, William has no mortification
on this head, and I may safely say that those who are
most nearly connected with him have not an atom of that
species of disappointment. We have too rooted a confi-
dence in the purity of his intentions and the power with
which they are executed. His writings will live, will com-
fort the afflicted, and animate the happy to purer happi-
ness ; when we, and our little cares, are all forgotten.^ . . .
CCCVI
William Wordsworth to R, P. Gillies
Rydal Mount, Nov. i6, 1816.
My dear Sir,
... If you write more blank verse, pray pay particu-
lar attention to your versification, especially as to the
pauses on the first, second, third, eighth, and ninth sylla-
bles. These pauses should never be introduced for con-
venience, and not often for the sake of variety merely,
but for some especial effect of harmony or emphasis. . . .
I remain, with great respect, most truly yours,
William Wordsworth.
1 Compare Wordsworth's letter to Lady Beaamont, May 21,
1807.— Ed.
TO CORRESPONDENT UNKNOWN 95
CCCVII
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
[1816?]
. . . My verses have all risen up of their own accord.
I was once requested to write an inscription for a monu-
ment which a friend proposed to erect in his garden, and
a year elapsed before I could accomplish it.^ . . .
1 Wordsworth wrote four ** inscriptions " for the grounds of his
friend Sir George Beaumont of Coleorton. They were entitled
(i) In the grounds of Coleorton^ the seat of Sir George Beaumont^
Bart.^ Leicestershire ; ("£) In a garden of the same ; (3) Written at the
request of Sir George Beaumont^ Bart., and in his name, for an urn,
placed by him at the termination of a newly-planted avenue, in the
same grounds; (4) For a seat in the Groves of Coleorton, It is to the
third that he refers in the above letter. It was composed in 1808.
He spent the winter of 1806-7 at Coleorton farm-house. See the
Eversley edition of his poems, Vol. IV, pp. 74-82. — Ed.
96 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
1817
CCCVIII
William Wordsworth to Daniel Stuart
Rydal Mount, April 7, 181 7.
My dear Sir,
... I am, like you, an alarmist, and for this reason.
I see clearly that the principal ties which kept the differ-
ent classes of society in a vital and harmonious depend-
ence upon each other have, within these thirty years,
either been greatly impaired or wholly dissolved. Every-
thing has been put up to market and sold for the highest
price it would buy. Farmers used formerly to be attached
to their landlords, and labourers to their farmers who
employed them. All that kind of feeling has vanished.
In like manner, the connexion between the trading and
landed interests of country towns undergoes no modifi-
cation whatever from personal feeling, whereas within my
memory it was almost wholly governed by it. A country
squire, or substantial yeoman, used formerly to resort to
the same shops which his father had frequented before
him, and nothing but a serious injury, real or supposed,
would have appeared to him a justification for breaking
up a connexion which was attended with substantial
amity and interchanges of hospitality from generation
to generation. All this moral cement is dissolved ; habits
and prejudices are broken and rooted up, nothing being
TO DANIEL STUART 97
substituted in their place but a quickened self-interest,
with more extensive views and wider dependencies, but
more lax in proportion as they are wider. The ministry
will do well if they keep things quiet for the present, but
if our present constitution in church and state is to last,
it must rest as heretofore upon a moral basis ; and they
who govern the country must be something superior to
mere financiers and political economists. Farewell.
Very faithfully yours, „, „,
^ "^ "^ W. Wordsworth.
CCCIX
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Sunday, April 13th, 181 7.
My dear Friend,
. . . To-day he (William) has composed a sonnet ; and
in our inner minds we sing " Oh ! be joyful ! " It has
indeed been most melancholy to see him bowed down by
oppressive cares, which have fallen upon him through
mismanagement, dilatoriness, or negligence. Alas ! that
is the truth. Nothing can exceed the apathy which our
poor deceased brother ^ must have lived in, nor his irreso-
lution and weakness. Southey is going upon the Conti-
nent, and William has had a strong desire to go with him ;
but he has now given it up ; for there are certain points
pending in Richard's affairs, which might remain longer
unsettled, if he were absent. I wish he could* have gone.
... I believe he will go next year, if we live and are
well. What do you think of your friend William Smith's
1 Richard Wordsworth. — Ed.
98 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
attack upon Southey ? ^ The publishing of the pamphlet ;
was an infamous thing; but neither that, nor the tri- :
umphs of the malignant, can do him harm. If I were in ^
Southey's place, I would be far more afraid of my inju-
dicious defenders than my open enemies. Coleridge, for
instance, has taken up the cudgels ; and of injudicious
defenders he is surely the master leader. If you do not see
The Courier regularly, I hope you may be able to borrow
those for the last four or five weeks, and you will see what
Coleridge has written. He does nothing in simplicity, and
his praise is to me quite disgusting, — his praise of the
"man" Southey in contradistinction to the "boy" who
wrote " Wat Tyler." I am very glad that Southey is going
abroad. He works so hard, and looks so delicate, that one
cannot see him without anxious thoughts ; and, resolute as
he is, he will for ever feel his bitter loss. It comes on him
keenly at times. . . .
CCCX
William Wordsworth to Samuel Rogers ^
Rydal Mount, May 13, 181 7.
... I presume you are in a state of earthly existence,
as I have heard nothing to the contrary since we parted
1 Mr. William Smith, liberal M.P. for Norwich, published in 1817
a poem which Southey had written in his young manhood, twenty-
three years before, and which had passed into other hands, and been
forgotten by its author. This poem, " Wat Tyler," — written when
Southey was a youthful republican, — was now published without his
knowledge, and the author represented as a renegade, and worse.
Southey, for once in his life, condescended to reply to his calumni-
ator, in A Letter to William Smithy Esq, ; while Coleridge defended
his friend in The Courier. — Ed.
2 See The Early Life of Samuel Rogers (1887), and Rogers and
His Contemporaries (1889), by P. W. Clayden. — Ed.
TO SAMUEL ROGERS 99
in a shower near the turnpike gate of Keswick. Need I
add that I hope and wish that you may be well ? In the
former part of this sentence you may have divined there
lurks a charitable reproach ; for you left me with some
reason to expect that I should hear of, from, or about you.
Though this favour has not been granted, I am not dis-
couraged from asking another, the exact amount of which I
am unable to calculate. A friend of mine, a near relation
of Mrs. Wordsworth, is smitten with a desire of seeing the
pictures brought together by the members of the British
lostitution, and exhibited in the evening. I feel I have
expressed my meaning cumbrously and ill. He greatly
wishes to attend in the evening and has applied to me
to procure him a ticket, for one night, if I conveniently
caiL Is it in your power to enable me to gratify this
laudable ambition in a worthy person ? Having come to
the point, I have only to add that his address is, Thomas
Monkhouse, Esq., 28 St. Anne'^' Street ; and could you
enclose him a ticket, I shall be most thankful.
Are we to see you among us this summer ? I hope so
— and also that Sharp ^ will not desert us. How is he in
health, and what does he say of Switzerland and Italy,
both in themselves, and as compared with the scenes in
our neighbourhood, which he knows so well ? Is George
Philips as great an orator as ever, and do you and Dante
continue as intimate as heretofore ? He used to avenge
himself upon his enemies by placing them in h — 11,^ a
thing bards seem very fond of attempting in this day,
— witness the laureate's mode of treating Mr. W. '^ith.*
You keep out of these scrapes, I suppose. Why don't
^ Richard Sharp, ** Conversation Sharp," as he used to be called
his friends. — Ed.
* Sec text and note at page 98. — Ed.
rj -'
lOO WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
you hire somebody to abuse you? and the higher the
place selected for the purpose the better. For myself, I
begin to fear that I should soon be forgotten, if it were
not for my enemies. Yet, now and then, a humble
admirer presents himself, in some cases following up his
introduction with a petition. The other day I had a
letter of this sort from a poetical, not a personal, friend
— a Quaker of the name of Barton* living at Wood-
bridge, in Suffolk. He has beguiled me of a guinea, the
promise of one at least, by way of subscription to a quarto
volume of poems, which he is anxious to print, partly for
honour, partly for profit. He solicits my interest to pro-
mote his views. I state the fact ; I do not beg. I have
not sufficient grounds to go upon. I leave the affair to
the decision of your own mind, only do not contemn me
for abusing. . . .
CCCXI
William Wordsworth to Daniel Stuart
Rydal Mount, June 22, 18 17.
My dear Sir,
. . . Your lot is now cast in a fair land, and both
yourself and your posterity will, I trust, feel the benefit
Your purchase, which is at a right distance from the
metropolis, is, both as to quantity and quality, I think,
very judicious. In everything, especially in land, it is of
consequence to have good stuff in little room. Buying a
large tract of inferior soil, or waste, with a view to reclaim
1 Bernard Barton (i 784-1 849), the Quaker poet, and a special
friend of Charles Lamb, published in 18 18 The Convicfs Appeal
and Poems by an Amateur^ and in 1822 Verses on the Death of
P, B, Shelley, — ^di.
TO DANIEL STUART lOI
it, though flattering to the fancy, is an expedient which
within the last few years has ruined persons with more
certainty than any other sort of speculation. . . .
There is a maxim laid down in my tract on the Con-
vention of Cintra which ought never to be lost sight of.
It is expressed, I believe, nearly in the following words :
"There is, in fact, an unconquerable tendency in all
power, save that of knowledge, acting by and through
knowledge, to injure the mind of him by whom that power
is exercised." . . .
If I had access to a cabinet minister, I would put
these questions. Do you think that the fear of the law,
and mere selfish or personal calculations as to profit or
loss, in the matter of property or condition, are sufficient
to keep a numerous people in due subordination ? " No."
What loss has the country sustained, within these last
twenty or thirty years, of those habits, sentiments, and
dispositions, which lend a collateral support, in the way
of buttresses, of equal importance for the preservation of
the edifice with the foundation itself ? If the old props
have been shaken or destroyed, have adequate new ones
been substituted ? A discerning answer to these queries
would be the picture of danger, and nothing else can lead
to a just consideration of the means by which it is to
be lessened. Farewell. . . ,
Best regards to Mrs. Stuart, and believe me,
Faithfully yours, „, „,
^ ^ ^ W. Wordsworth.
I02 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCXII
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, June 24, 18 17.
My dear Sir,
Dr. Chalmers, of whom, notwithstanding his celebrity,
I had never heard (which occasioned me to address him
by the name of Dr. Campbell, a most unlucky blunder),
delivered your letter ; and I gave him meet directions for
seeing this country, as best suited with the time at his dis-
posal. His friend mentioned by you was not with him.
I duly received your former letter, I mean in due course
of post ; for as to other obligation^ if I may use so bold a
word, it came like a bad debt, unexpectedly recovered !
(A man of business is speaking to a lawyer; you will
therefore excuse the metaphor.)
How came you to quarrel with Furness Abbey ? Youi
old enemy, bad weather, must have persecuted you into
bad humour, which — powerful as your foe is — I think
he would find some difficulty in effecting. Furness Abbej
presents some grand points of view, which you musi
have missed. The architecture never seems to have
been so highly embellished as might have been expected
from the princely power and revenues of the community
which erected it. This I allow, and it is dilapidated fai
beyond the point where entireness may advantageously be
seen, wherein the gratifications of the eye and the imagi-
nation meet each in their utmost perfection. But after
all why not be thankful for what has been done, and
yet remains t How unlucky you were I We have had
less rain during the last eleven or twelve weeks than the
average of as many hours taken for the time you were
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 103
among us. It has been a cold spring, but bright and
beautiful ; and we are now in the old golden glorious sum-
mer days ; the little com that we have in the neighbor-
hood, and the grass, growing as fast as in Russia or
Finland. Yesterday Mrs. Wordsworth and myself were
on the top of Helvellyn, my second visit within these
last three weeks. The former was with my sister ; we
returned over its summit from Patterdale where we had
been staying a few days. I describe nothing of their
appearances in prose. You will hear of them at some
future time in verse.
In a fortnight or three weeks I visit Mr, Stanley of
Ponsonby, a mile from Calder Abbey, your favourite. I
have invited Mr. Hutton to meet me at Ravenglass, and
be assured the place shall receive a few ill names from
me (on your behalf) if it does not make amends fdr past
offences by putting on its best looks.
I hope you will see Mr. Southey on his return, for
news of which I am beginning to look and indeed to long.
He went away with a wish to purchase the house he
occupies at Keswick. It is advertised for sale on the
tenth, I believe, of next month. His letter, quoad Mr.
Wm. Smith,^ is I think completely to the point ; but I am
not satisfied with his statement of his own opinions and
his delineation of the course which he wishes to be pur-
sued. It is too hastily executed, and wants some pass-
ages of searching admonition to ministers, both for their
benefit, and to blunt the force of a charge which his
enemies will bring against the author, of being too obse-
quious to the throne, the aristocracy, and persons in
office or in place ; the charge of being a tool of power ^
* See page 98. — Ed.
I04 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
a most false and foul accusation, for a more disinter-
ested and honourable man than Robert Southey does
not breathe. Does Mr. Smith expect that even his per-
sonal and party friends will in their conscience believe
true whatever they may profess, when he states, as he did
in the that he did not censure a change of view
but the virulence with which they were now reproached
who continue to think as their present preacher himself
had formerly done. How came he then to use the word
"renegade"? The practice, to which he pretends his
censure was^ confined, is far from entering of necessity
into the meaning of that word. The act of change is
stigmatized by the word, which comes from a deserter of
Christianity for Mohammedanism, which Christians can-
not admit a possibility of, from other than a bad motive,
or a vicious impulse. Farewell. . . .
CCCXIII
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
June 24, 18 1 7.
... I have not seen Southey's article in the last Q. R.,*
nor Mr. Moore's ugly named poem,^ nor Lord B.'s tragedy,'
nor his last canto of Childe Harold^ where I am told he
has been poaching on my manor, nor any one new thing
whatever, except a bust of myself. Some kind person —
which persons mostly unknown to me are — has been good
enough to forward me this. Truly yours,
W. W.
1 Quarterly Review. — Ed.
2 Doubtless Lcdla Rookh. — Ed.
» Probably Manfred. — Ed.
TO DANIEL STUART 105
CCCXIV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Marshall
Wednesday, 25th June.
. . . When on our way home I viewed from the top of
Helvellyn the fields of Shelly Nab, and the dwellings of
Hallsteads, and the old church. We viewed the masses
of snow with particular attention, which daily watches
in their decay from the shores of Ullswater, and my
brother made a bold push to procure some of that very
snow for our refreshment ; but he could not accomplish
it. ... I never walked with more spirit in my life than
on the lofty terraces of Helvellyn. . . . How do you like
this very hot weather? It is of the right old-fashioned
kind, and pleases me well. I hope that before the very
fine weather is gone, you may be all enjoying the luxury
of floating upon still waters in long summer evenings.
Nothing can exceed the glory of Ullswater at such a time.
There is now a refreshing breeze, and, if it continues, we
intend to stroll down the meadows to Windermere, and
shall take a boat to Low-wood, for the sake of the sunset
in the Langdale mountains, — a spectacle I have often
beard you speak of with delight. . . .
cccxv
William Wordsworth to Daniel Stuart
%\ Rydal Mount, Saturday, September 7, 181 7.
Dear Sir,
... I am decisively of opinion that a public school
is the proper place of education for a lawyer, I know
I06 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
several eminent English lawyers distinguished for their
knowledge of law, as , who most probably would have
been equally distinguished for their happy manner of dis-
playing it in a court of justice, if they had fortunately
been educated in public schools, but, not having had that
discipline, they are obliged to keep their candle hidden
under a bushel. Sh)mess, reserve, awkwardness, want of
self-possession, embarrassment, encumbered expression,
hesitation in speaking, etc., etc., are sad impediments to
an advocate ; and the best way of obviating all this is to
place a lad under the necessity of encountering the shock
he will every moment meet with, in those seminaries. . . .
What then do I advise ? That your protigk should be
immediately examined, in Latin and Greek, by some
competent person who has been himself distinguished at
one of the universities, for his knowledge of classics, and
educated at one of the public schools; and, if he find
him well grounded and practised in construing and com-
position, and deems him so far advanced that he can be
sent to one of our great public schools with a prospect of
benefiting in those studies, that is, without its being
probable that he would be thrown back materially by the
necessity of learning a new set of syntax rules, or other
things of that sort, that then he should proceed forthwith
to such schools for the ensuing year, and be admitted at
Trinity College, Cambridge, next commencement to reside
in October following. I advise Cambridge in preference
to Oxford, because at Cambridge he will have stronger
incitements and inducements to apply to mathematics;
and, if he is able to fix his attention so far as to make a
progress in those sciences, the assiduity and steady appli-
cation of the thoughts requisite for success in law will
not be more than he will find himself already prepared
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 107
for. I recommend Trinity College in preference to any
other, because it is a more liberal foundation. . . .
I remain very truly yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCXVI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Rydal Mount, October i6th, [18 17.]
My dear Friend,
. . . Derwent Coleridge is going to his father, in Lon-
don. I cannot see any good that can possibly arise from
this, unless it forces his father to exert himself to put
the boy forward, or forces him to confess openly that he
cannot do anything ; which will at least compel him to per-
ceive that he and his children have had and have friends,
ill as he thinks he has been used in the world. . . . William
has sat for his picture,^ written a few small poems, en-
tertained company, enjoyed the country, and paid some
visits, and so his summer has been passed. He intends
to work hard at The Recluse in winter. ...
CCCXVII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Marshall
1817.
. . . Sir George and Lady Beaumont returned from
Hallsteads, inexpressibly delighted with the hospitality
and kindness which they had met with under your roof.
They were never weary of talking of the kindness of one
1 The portrait by Richard Camithers. — Ed.
I08 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
and all. . . . All the Wilberforces intend to leave Rydal to-
morrow. There never lived on earth, I am sure, a man
of sweeter temper than Mr. Wilberforce. He is made up
of benevolence and loving-kindness; and, though shat-
tered in constitution, and feeble in body, he is as lively
and animated as in the days of his youth.^ His children
very much resemble him in ardour and liveliness of
mind. . . .
CCCXVIII
William Wordsworth to R. P. Gillies
Rydal Mount [date wanting], 1817.
My dear Sir,
I am unworthy of the many acts of kind attention you
bestow on me. I know nothing of the treatise of Wieland,
which you inquired after, or I should have written imme-
diately on receipt of your letter. ...
But how could you write, " at every step the scenery
seemed improving"? This is a thoroughly bad verse;
bad even for prose. . . . Your essay is desultory enough.
Of the soundness of the opinions it becomes me not
to judge. The famous passage on solitude, which you
quote from Lord Byron,^ does not deserve the notice
which has been bestowed on it. As composition it is
bad, particularly the line,
Minions of grandeur shrinking from distress
1 The Wordsworths ascended Scawfell on this occasion with the
Beaumonts and Wilberforces. — Ed.
2 The line occurs in Childe HarolcTs Pilgrimage^ Canto II»
stanza xxvi, 1. 5. — Ed.
I
TO R. P. GILLIES 109
is foisted in for the sake of the rhyme. But the senti-
ment by being expressed in an antithetic manner is taken
out of the region of high and imaginative feeling to be
placed in that of point and epigram. To illustrate my
meaning, and for no other purpose, I refer to my own
lines on the Wye, where you will find the same sentiment
not formally put as it is here, but ejaculated, as it were,
fortuitously in the musical succession of preconceived
feeling. Compare the paragraph ending
How often has my spirit turned to thee,
and the one where occur the lines
And greetings where no kindness is, and all
The dreary intercourse of daily life,
with these lines of Lord Byron, and you will perceive the
difference. You will give me credit for writing for the
sake of truth, and not for so disgusting a motive as self-
commendation at the expense of a man of genius. . . .
Most faithfully yours,
William Wordsworth.
no WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
1818
CCCXIX
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
January 3d, 18 18.
... If property, situation in life, character, etc., could
ensure success, our triumph would be complete. But
every man of weight overrates his own importance till it
is fairly tried; and this even seems as much owing to
want of reflection as to personal vanity. Our indolence
bribes us also into a belief that ordinary influences are
equal to extraordinary occasions ; and we trust accord-
ingly to passive qualities and circumstances, when every
nerve ought to be strained and every power put into
action. But this, of which I see instances on every side
of me, would be better said to the public. . . .
CCCXX
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Jan. 21, 1818.
. . . What else but the stability and might of a large
estate, with proportional influence in the House of Com-
mons, can counterbalance the democratic activity of the
wealthy, commercial, and manufacturing districts ? It
appears to a superficial observer, warm from contemplating
TO LORD LONSDALE III
the theory of the Constitution, that the political power of
the great landholders ought, by every true lover of his
country, to be strenuously resisted; but I would ask a
well-intentioned native of Westmoreland or Cumberland,
who had fallen into this mistake, if he could point to any
arrangement by which Jacobinism can be frustrated except
by the existence of large estates continued from genera-
tion to generation in particular families, and parliamen-
tary power in proportion.
CCCXXI
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
loth Feb., 1818.
. . . Not to exclude or give offence to dissenters, who
are very powerful in Kendal, I recommended " King and
Constitution," in preference to " Church and King," as
the latter part of the Lowther motto. . . .
CCCXXII
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
i2th Feb., 1818.
This week I have addressed two letters, signed "A
Friend to Truth," to the editor of The Chronicle^ which if
he inserts, I shall have some hope of him. If he does
not, I shall publish them elsewhere.
... I wish much for your opinion as to the propriety
of precautionary measures in augmenting the numbers
of trustworthy freeholders. An offer has been made to
Oie of an estate which would divide into twelve small
112 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
freeholds; and, with your Lordship's sanction, I would
purchase it, being able to reckon on as many persons,—
gentlemen, my friends and relations, — who could be
depended upon. If it be found that your adversaries
adopt the plan of increasing the numbers in their inter-
est, it will be necessary to keep pace with them, and I
don't think that the matter can be safely left to casual-
Lies* • • •
CCCXXIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Thomas Monkhouse
Kendal, March 3d, 18 18.
My dear Friend,
Knowing that you do not grudge a shilling that pays
for tidings of old friends, and that if you can get a little
sound good-government doctrine into the bargain, you
will think the shilling well bestowed, I send you this
paper ;^ which I think you will say is pretty well done.
There is nothing comes out on the other side of the ques-
tion worth reading, though every day brings out some-
thing fresh on both sides. The Broughamites evidently
abate in their hopes, and the opposite party has well
grounded hopes of success ; but the misguided mob,
including almost all of the lower classes who have no
votes, cry aloud for Brougham, expecting that if he is but
returned for Westmoreland, meal will be reduced to fifteen
shillings a load. So they cry out ! and no lady would
venture to appear in a yellow ribband in Kendal streets,
though you cannot walk thirty yards without meeting a
1 This letter was written on a copy of the broad-sheet, To the
Freeholders of Westmoreland^ by a freeholder, February 28, 18 18.
— Ed.
I
TO THOMAS MONKHOUSE 113
dirty lad or lass with a blue one I ^ and the ladies of that
party also have no fear of displa3dng their colour.
I am detained at Kendal by bad weather. I came in
the coach on Thursday, and shall return upon Neddy
to-morrow, if the day be fine. All are well at home. We
often wish you had a vote to bring you down at the elec-
tion. H. Brougham is expected about Easter, when it is
much to be feared that there will be fresh disturbances.
I am called to dinner, so excuse this scrawl, and if you
put this paper into any one's hands, pray erase all my
scrawling. God bless you !
Ever your affectionate, _ .,.
JJ. W.
I should have sent you the last Kendal paper, but it
contained nothing but the London tavern dinner and
some villainous writing in which there was no sense, on
the other side.
CCCXXIV
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
March 10, 181 8.
. . . The rural stamina of this outbreak are misguided
good intention, party spirit, dissent, disaffection, envy,
pride, and all the self-conceited pretensions which absurd
ignorance can be incited to by headstrong reformers and
revolutionists. ...
1 The respective Tory and Whig colours. — Ed.
114 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCXXV
Willtam Wordsworth to Daniel Stuart
Rydal Mount, March, 1818.
Dear Sir,
. . . The sum of my opinion is that, if I had strong
reasons for believing my son would apply to the law, I
should send him to college at seventeen. If I thought
he must be obliged to take up with the Church, I should
not send him till nineteen, unless I knew that he was so
far advanced in his studies as to encourage a strong per-
suasion in me that he would distinguish himself, even if
sent at seventeen. As to his college, the advantages of
a large college are, that he may choose his company, and
is more likely to be roused by emulation ; and the public
lectures are more likely to be good, and everything car-
ried forward with more spirit. The disadvantages arc
that, seeing so many clever men and able scholars, he
may be disheartened, and throw up in disgust or despah*.
Also, much more distinction is required to obtain a fellow-
ship among so many competitors. But it very often hap
pens that distinguished men educated in large colleges,
when there are not fellowships for them there, are elected
into small colleges^ which happen to be destitute of persons
properly qualified. The chief advantages in a small college
are the much greater likelihood of procuring rooms, and,
in the end, college patronage ; but there is danger of
getting into lounging ways from h€vci% forced among idle
people, and the public lectures are rarely carried on with
such spirit. . . . But there cannot be a doubt but that
the noblest field for an ambitious, industrious, properly
qualified, and clever youth is Trinity College. . . .
Ever yours, ^ ^
TO LORD LONSDALE^ 1 15
CCCXXVI
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Rydal Mount, April 6, 181 8.
[He refers to the pamphlet he had written, — the Two
Addresses to the Freeholders in Westmoreland^ — and asks
Lord Lonsdale's opinion as to whether it could be put
into general circulation.] My object in writing this work
was to give the rationale of the question, for the consid-
eration of the upper ranks of society, in language of
appropriate dignity. It shall be followed up with brief
essays, in plain and popular language, illustrating the
principles in detail, for the understanding of the lower
orders.
CCCXXVII
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
Rydal Mount, October 6, 181 8.
... I have ascertained that the paper containing that
infamous letter signed " Birch" has been sent to differ-
ent persons of the Lowther party. This is a vile course.
Two rules we ought to lay down; never to retort by
attacking private character, and never to notice the par-
Hculars of a personal calumny, or any allegation of a per-
sonal nature proceeding from an anonymous quarter. We
ought to content ourselves by protesting in the strongest
terms against the practice, and pointing it out to indig&a-
tion and contempt. . . .
^ It was printed at Kendal by King and Bellingham in 18 18. — £d.
Il6 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCXXVIII
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
28th November, 18 18.
Looking at this subject generally, I cannot but be of
opinion that the feudal power yet surviving in England is
eminently serviceable in counteracting the popular tend-
ency to reform, which would unavoidably lead to pecu-
lations. The people are already powerful far beyond the
increase of their information, and their improvement in
morals. . . .
CCCXXIX
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
Dec. 8th, 1818.
. . . Our opponents are very active in procuring free-
holds, so much so that we must exert ourselves with the
view of preserving the balance. This necessity is much
to be regretted, — but it to me is so obvious that I pur-
chased the other day a freehold estate in Langdale, which
will divide into seven parts. Of these five are»already
disposed of, one to Mr. Gee, and the other four to my
own relations. . . .
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 117
1819
cccxxx
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Tuesday, 12th January, [181 9.]
... I resolved to put off writing till to-morrow, when I
recollected that to-morrow I am engaged to go with a
party of young ones to visit Betty Yewdale in Langdale,
the good woman recorded in The Excursion^ who received
the pedlar in her cottage and walked backwards and for-
wards with her light upon the hill to direct her husband's
homeward steps from the quarry.* . . .
Mrs. Coleridge is here, with Sara and Edith, — two
sweet girls, — and you may be sure we have mirth and
merriment enough, with such jinglings of the pianoforte as
would tire any but very patient people. We had a grand
ball last Thursday. The house turned inside out Ball-
room decorated with evergreens, a happy employment
with hard labour for the girls. Two whole mornings
were so engaged, and who should come in unexpectedly
but Dr. Bell ! The lasses' friend, he was detained for
the ball, and only left us yesterday. He tutored Miss
Dowling, carried his girls with D. to form a class, visited
the trinket shop, spent four guineas for them, and left
every one a guinea at parting ! . . . Hartley has done
excellently at Oxford, has had high compliments from his
1 See The Excursion^ Book V, 11. 728-771. — Ed.
Il8 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
tutor, is now with his father, writes thoughtfully, resolves
to do his utmost on the beaten road, has got the promise
of two pupils. We have great hopes that Derwent will
get to one of the universities; but it is not yet so far
settled that I can say an3rthing further than that Grosve-
nor Lloyd has offered to allow him ;^3o per annum out
of his living. This is noble and affecting, and his mother
rejoices at it. She, poor woman, is at Birmingham strug-
gling with law-suits and family quarrels, — her husband
at Ambleside in a wretched state. . . . William has
written some beautiful sonnets lately. That is all he
has done. . . .
CCCXXXI
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
January 13 th, 1819.^
... I wish I could add that I feel myself properly
qualified for the undertaking, and that I could get rid of
those apprehensions, which they who know me better than
I know myself are perpetually forcing upon me, — viz. that
my literary exertions will suffer more than I am aware of
from this engagement. They ground their opinion upon
an infirmity of which I am conscious, viz., that whatever
pursuit I direct my attention to is apt to occupy my mind
too exclusively. But ... I am anxious to discharge my
obligations to society. . . .
^ Wordsworth^s name had been placed on the list of the Commis*
sioners of the Peace for Westmoreland. — £d.
TO LORD LONSDALE 119
CCCXXXII
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Feb. s, 1819.
. , . We seem pretty much of opinion upon the subject
of rhyme. Pentameters, where the sense has a close of
some sort at eVery two lines, may be rendered in regu-
larly closed couplets ; but hexameters (especially the Vir-
gilian, that run the lines into each other for a great
length) cannot. I have long been persuaded that Milton
formed bis blank verse upon the model of the Georgics
and the ^neid, and I am so much struck with this resem-
blance that I should have attempted Virgil in blank
verse, had I not been persuaded that no ancient author
can be with advantage so rendered. Their religion, their
warfare, their course of action and feeling are too remote
from modem Interest to allow it We require every pos-
sible help and attraction of sound, in our language, to
smooth the way for the admission of things so remote
from our present concerns. My own notion of transla-
tion is that it cannot be too literal, provided three faults
be avoided : first, baldness, in which I include all that
takes from dignity ; second, strangeness, or uttcouihness,
including harshness ; third, attempts to convey meanings
which, as they cannot be given but by languid circumlocu-
tions, cannot in fact be said to be given at all, I will
trouble you with an instance in which I fear this fault
exists. Virgil, describing jEneas's voyage, third book,
verse 551, says,
Hinc sinua Herculei, si vera est fama, Tarenti
I20 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I render it thus :
Hence we behold the bay that bears the name
Of proud Tarentum, proud to share the fame
Of Hercules, though by a dubious claim.
I was unable to get the meaning with tolerable harmony
into fewer words, which are more than to a modern
reader, perhaps, it is worth.
I feel much at a loss, without the assistance of the
marks which I have requested, to take an exact measure
of your lordship's feelings with regard to the diction.
To save you the trouble of reference, I will transcribe
two passages from Dryden, — first the celebrated appear-
ance of Hector's ghost to ^neas. ^neas thus addresses
him:
O light of Trojans and support of Troy,
Thy father's champion, and thy country's joy,
O long expected by thy friends, from whence
Art thou returned, so late for our defence ?
Do we behold thee, wearied as we are
With length of labours and with toils of war ?
After so many funerals of thy own.
Art thou restored to thy declining town ?
This I think not an unfavourable specimen of Dryden's
way of treating the solemnly pathetic passages. Yet
surely there is nothing of the cadence of the original, and
little of its spirit The second verse is not in the origi-
nal, and ought not to have been in Dryden ; for it antici-
pates the beautiful hemistich,
Sat patriae Priamoque datum.
TO LORD LONSDALE 121
By the by, there is the same sort of anticipation in a
spirited and harmonious couplet preceding :
Such as he was when by Pelides slain
Thessalian coursers dragged him o'er the plain.
This introduction of Pelides here is not in Virgil, because
it would have prevented the effect of
Redit exuvias indutus Achillei.
There is a striking solemnity in the answer of Pantheus
to iEneas :
Venit summa dies et ineluctabile tempus
, Dardaniae : fuimus Trees, fuit Ilium, et ingens
Gloria Teucrorum, etc.
Dryden thus gives it :
Then Pantheus, with a groan,
Troy is no more, and Ilium was a town.
The fatal day, the appointed hour is come
When wrathful Jove's irrevocable doom
Transfers the Trojan state to Grecian hands.
The fire consumes the town, the foe commands.
My own translation runs thus ; and I quote it because
it occurred to my mind immediately on reading your
lordship's observations :
'T is come, the final hour,
Th' inevitable close of Dardan power
Hath come ! we have been Trojans, Ilium was
And the great name of Troy ; now all things pass
To Argos. So wills angry Jupiter,
Amid the burning town the Grecians domineer.
I cannot say that "we have been," and " Ilium a/aj," are
as sonorous sounds as " fuimus'* and "fuit"; but these
122 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
latter must have been as familiar to the Romans as the
former to ourselves. I should much like to know if your
Lordship disapproves of my translation here. I have one
word to say upon ornament. It was my wish and labour
that my translation should have far more of the genuine
ornaments of Virgil than my predecessors. Dryden has
been very careful of these, and profuse of his own, which
seem to me very rarely to harmonise with those of Virgil;
as, for example, describing Hector's appearance in the
passage above alluded to,
A bloody shroud^ he seemed, and bathed in tears.
I wept to see the visionary man.
Again,
And all the wounds he for his country bore
Now streamed afresh, and with new purple ran,
I feel it, however, to be too probable that my translation
is deficient in ornament, because I must unavoidably have
lost many of Virgil's, and have never without reluctance
attempted a compensation of my own. Had I taken the
liberties of my predecessors, Dryden especially, I could
have translated nine books with the labour that three have
cost me. The third book, being of a humbler character
than either of the former, I have treated with rather less
scrupulous apprehension, and have interwoven a little of
my own; and, with permission, I will send it, ere long,
for the benefit of your Lordship's observations, which
really will be of great service to me if I proceed. Had I
begun the work fifteen years ago, I should have finished
it with pleasure ; at present, I fear it will take more time
than I either can or ought to spare. I do not think of
going beyond the fourth book. . . .
TO LORD LONSDALE 1 23
CCCXXXIII
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
CoLEORTON Hall, 17th February, 18 19.
I began my translation by accident. I continued it,
with a hope to produce a work which would be to a cer-
tain degree affecting, which Dryden's is not to me in the
least Dr. Johnson has justly remarked that Dry den had
little talent for the pathetic, and the tenderness of Virgil
seems to me to escape him. Virgil's style is an inimitable
mixture of the elaborately ornate and the majestically plain
and touching. The former quality is much more difficult
to reach than the latter, in which whosoever fails must
fail through want of ability, and not through the imper-
fections of our language.
In my last I troubled you with a quotation from my
own translation, in which I found a failure — "fuimus
Troes," etc., "we have been Trojans," etc. It struck me
afterwards that I might have found still stronger instances.
At the close of the first book Dido is described as ask-
ing several questions of Venus,
Nunc, quales Diomedis equi, nunc quantus Achilles,
which Dryden translates very nearly, I think, thus,
The steeds of Diomede varied the discourse, etc.
My own translation is probably as faulty upon another
principle :
Of Hector asked if Priam o'er and o'er,
What arms the son of bright Aurora wore,
What horses there of Diomede, had great
Achilles — but, O Queen, the whole relate.
_
M
l""i
124 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
These two lines will be deemed, I apprehend, hard and
bald. So true is Horace's remark, ** in vitium ducet culpse
fuga," etc.
CCCXXXIV
William Wordsworth to Francis Wrangham "
Rydal Mount, February 19th, 18 19.
Dear Wrangham,
I received your kind letter last night, for which you
will accept my thanks. I write upon the spur of that
mark of your regard — or my aversion to letter-writing
might get the better of me. Rogers read me his poem^ i
when I was in town about twelve months ago ; but I j
have heard nothing of it since. It contained some very
pleasing passages, but the title is much too grandilo-
quent for the performance, and the plan appeared to me
faulty. I know little of Blackwood* s Magazine, and wish
to know less. I have seen in it articles so infamous that .
I do not choose to let it enter my doors. The publisher
sent it to me some time ago, and I begged (civilly you
will take for granted) not to be troubled with it any
longer. Except now and then, when Southey accommo- j
dates me, I see no new books whatever, so that of course |
I know nothing of Miss Aikin's Queen Elizabeth} I
blight to have mentioned that the three sonnets advertised
in Blackwood* s Magazine as from my pen were truly so, but
they were not of my sending.
1 Rogers' Human Life^ a Poem, was published in London in 1819-
— Ed.
* Lucy Aikin, author of Memoirs of the Court of Queen Eliualxth
(1818). — Ed.
i
TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM 1 25
I am glad to hear you are engaged with Dr. Zouch. I
find it difficult to speak publicly of good men while alive,
especially if they are persons who have power; the
world ascribes the eulogy to interested motives, or to an
adulatory spirit, which I detest. But of Lord Lonsdale I
will say to you that I do not think there exists in England
a man of any rank more anxiously desirous to discharge
his duty in that station of life to which it has pleased
God to call him. His thought and exertions are con-
stantly directed to that object, and the more he is known
the more is he beloved and respected and admired.
I ought to have thanked you before for your version
of Virgil's Eclogues^ which reached me at last. I have
lately compared it line for line with the original, and
think it very well done. I was particularly pleased with
the skill you have shown in managing the contest between
the shepherds in the third pastoral, where you have in-
cluded in a succession of couplets the sense of Virgil's
paired hexameter. I think I mentioned to you that these
poems of Virgil have always delighted me much. There
is frequently in them an elegance and a happiness which
no translation can hope to equal. In point of fidelity
your translation is very good indeed.
You astonish me with the account of your books, and
I should have been still more astonished if you had told
me you had read a third (shall I say a tenth) part of
them. My reading powers were never very great, and
now they are much diminished, especially by candle light.
And as to buying books, I can affirm that on new books
I have not spent five shillings for the last five years. I
include reviews, magazines, pamphlets, etc., etc. ; so that
* F. Wrangham published VirgiPs Eclogues in English Verse in
1830. He probably sent the MS. to Wordsworth in 18 19. — £d.
126 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
there would be an end of Mr. Murray, and Mr. Longman,
and Mr. Cadell etc, etc, if nobody bad more power or
inclination to buy than mjrself; and as to old books,
my dealings in that way, for want of means, have been
very trifling. Nevertheless (small and paltry as my col-
lection is) I have not read a fifth part of it. I should
however like to see your army.
Such forces met not, nor so wide a camp.
When Agrican, with all his Northern powers
Besieged Albracca as Romances tell.^
Not that I accuse you of romancing. I verily believe
that you have all the books you speak ol Believe, and
like the devils, tremble! Dear Wrangham, are you and
I ever likely to meet in this world again ? Yours is a comer
of the earth ; mine is not so. I never heard of anybody
going to Bridlington, but all the world comes to the Lakes.
Farewell. Elxcuse this wretched scrawl. It is like all that
proceeds from my miserable pen. Be assured I shall be
glad to hear of you at any and all times ; but literary
news, except what I get occasionally from Southey, I have
none to send you in return. Ever faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
As to the Nortons * the Ballad is my authority, and I
require no more. It is much better than Virgil had for
his jEneid, Perhaps I ought to have mentioned that the
articles in Blackwood's Magazine that disgusted me so,
were personal, — referring to myself and friends and
acquaintances, especially Coleridge.
* Paradise Regained^ Book III, 11. 337-339. — Ed.
* See The White Doe of Rylstoney or the Fate of the Nortons. — E4
TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM 127
CCCXXXV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs. Clarkson
August I, 1819.
. . . Have you seen Peter Belly and The Waggoner 1
William has done nothing lately except a few sonnets,
but these are exquisitely beautiful. . . . Rydal Mount
\^ the nicest place in the world for children. You will
almost long to be young again, as I do, when you see it ;
for the sake of trotting down the green banks, running
and dancing on the mount, etc. . . .
CCCXXXVI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
December 19th, 18 19.
. . . Derwent is to go to his father after Christmas.
This is a pity. Would you believe it possible, Coleridge
expressed a wish that Sara could go to Highgate to be
under the care of Mr. Oilman, the cleverest medical man
with whom he was ever acquainted I ! Hartley is, I believe,
at Ottery with his uncles. . . .
CCCXXXVII
William Wordsworth to Francis Wranghant
[No date.] ^
Dear Wrangham,
You are very good in sending one letter after another
to inquire after a person so undeserving of attentions of
this kind as myself. Dr. Johnson, I think, observes, or
^This letter may belong to the year 181 1. See footnote on
p. 511, Vol. I. — Ed.
1
128 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
rather is made to observe by some of his biographers, that
no man delights to give what he is accustomed to seU,
"For example: you, Mr. Thrale, would rather part with
anything in this way than your porter." Now, though I
have never been much of a salesman in matters of litera-
ture (the whole of my returns — I do not say net profits^
but returns — from the writing trade not amounting to
seven score pounds), yet, somehow or other, I manu-
facture a letter, and part with it, as reluctantly as if it
were really a thing of price. But, to drop the comparison,
I have so much to do with writing, in the way of labour
and profession, that it is difficult to me to conceive how
anybody can take up a pen but from constraint. My
writing-desk is to me a place of punishment; and, as my
penmanship sufficiently 'testifies, I always bend over it
with some degree of impatience. All this is said that
you may know the real cause of my silence, and not
ascribe it in any degree to slight or forgetfulness on my
part, or an insensibility to your worth and the value of
your friendship. ... As to my occupations, they look
little at the present age ; but I live in hope of leaving
something behind me that by some minds will be valued.
I see no new books except by the merest accident. Of
course your poem, which I should have been pleased to
read, has not found its way to me. You inquire about
old books ; you might almost as well have asked for my
teeth as for any of mine. The only modern books that I
read are those of travels, or such as relate to matters of
fact, — and the only modern books that I care for ; but as
to old ones, I am like yourself, — scarcely anything comes
amiss to me. The little time I have to spare — the very
little, I may say — all goes that way. If, however, in the
line of your prof ession you want any bulky old commentaries
on the Scriptures (such as not twelve strong men of these
TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM 1 29
degenerate days will venture — I do not say to read^ but to
lift)^ I can, perhaps, as a special favour, accommodate you.
I and mine will be happy to see you and yours here or
an3rwhere ; but I am sorry the time you talk of is so dis-
tant ; a year and a half is a long time looking forwards,
though^ looking back, ten times as much is brief as a
dream. My writing is wholly illegible — at least I fear
so ; I had better, therefore, release you.
Believe me, my dear Wrangham,
Your affectionate friend,
W. Wordsworth.
CCCXXXVIII
William Wordsworth to John Kenyon ^
[1819.]
Mrs. Coleridge and her daughter are now here, both
HrelL Since you left us Mrs. W. and I have been over to
Sedbergh, to see the orphan family of Stephens ; we found
their prospects brightening. The subscription is going
on well, and situations have already been procured for
several. To the honour of Liverpool, be it mentioned
that Mr. Bolton — sometimes called the Liverpool Croe-
sus— has contributed ;£'5o. You speak of this great
commercial place as I should have expected. In respect
to visual impression, nothing struck me so much at
Liverpool as one of the streets near the river, in which is
a number of lofty and large warehouses, with the processes
of receiving and discharging goods.
I am truly thankful for your travelling directions. . . .
1 John Kenyon, the second cousin of Mrs. Barrett Browning, to
whom she dedicated Aurora Leigh. — Ed.
I30 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
1820
CCCXXXIX
William Wordsworth to Viscount Lowther
Rydal Mount, February, 1820.
As one well acquainted with French affairs, do you
think it would be prudent to lodge money in the French
funds ? I mean for one like myself, who cannot afford to
lose anything. By the sale of an estate I have about
;^2ooo to place somewhere or other.^ Increase of inter-
est is an object, as the education of my children is now
reaching its most expensive point ; and if without much
risk as to regular payment of interest, or loss upon the
principal, I could profit by placing it in the French
funds, I should like to do so. . . .
[On the 13th of February Wordsworth wrote to Lord
Lowther] . . . Sincere thanks for your letter. It has
determined me to trust ;£'2ooo to the French funds. . . .
1 The estate here referred to could not be the Applethwaite prop-
erty, purchased and presented to Wordsworth by Sir George Beau-
mont in 1803, as that is still in the possession of Wordsworth's
descendants. It was probably the Place Fell property which Lord
Lowther's father helped him to acquire in 18 10. — £d.
TO JOHN WILSON I31
CCCXL
William Wordsworth to John Wilson ^
Rydal Mount, May 5th, 1820.
My dear Sir,
Of the particular fitness of any one to fill the chair of
Moral Philosophy, in the University of Edinburgh, I am
an incompetent judge, having only a vague notion of the
duties of the office. But if the choice is to depend upon
pre-eminence of natural powers of mind, cultivated by
excellent education, and habitually directed to the study
of ethics in the most comprehensive sense of the word ;
upon such powers, and great energy of character with
correspondent industry, I have no hesitation in saying
that the electors, the university, and Scotland in general,
must be fortunate in no common degree if among the
competitors there be foimd one more eligible than your-
self.
Wishing you, cordially, success in the pursuit of this
honourable object of ambition,
I remain.
My dear Sir,
Very faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
^ A copy of the testimonial given by Wordsworth to John Wilson
(Christopher North), who was elected to the chair of Moral Phi-
losophy at Edinburgh. — Ed.
132 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCXLI
William Wordsworth to John Kenyon
Rydal Mount, July 23d, 1820.
My dear Sir,
My eyes have lately become so irritable that I am
again forced to employ an amanuensis.
I learned with much concern from Monkhouse and
Tillbrooke that you had been unwell for some time, and
am truly grieved not to find in your last an assurance
that your health is restored. I hear from Miss Hutchin-
son such striking accounts of the benefit which invalids
derive from Harrowgate waters, and of their general
salutary effect (in which she speaks from experience,
having been there lately with a sick friend), that I more
than hope you will have reason also to speak highly in
their praise for their effect upon yourself.
We are disappointed at not seeing you before you go
into Scotland, myself more particularly so ; because I
have held out expectations to an Irish gentleman, who
has lately taken lodgings in this neighbourhood, that I
might accompany him on a tour through a considerable
part of his country, including the two extremities, Kil-
larney and the Giant's Causeway, which he says might
easily be accomplished in five weeks by our shipping at
Whitehaven for Dublin. If thiis plan should be adopted,
I fear I must purchase the pleasure at the cost of not
seeing you unless you could be tempted to prolong your
stay in this neighbourhood till towards the end of Sep-
tember. If I do go (which certainly I should not have
thought of this summer, were it not for the disordered
state of my eyes), I shall make all possible speed back
TO JOHN KENYON 1 33
for the sake of seeing you and your brother, to whom I
have a strong wish to be made known. Happy should I
be, could what I have thrown out tempt you to make
Ireland your object instead of Scotland. I have myself
made three tours in Scotland, but cannot point out any-
thing worthy of notice that is not generally known. Of
particular sights and spots those which pleased me most
were (to begin with the northernmost) the course of the
river Beauly up to the sawmills, about twenty miles be-
yond Inverness, — the fall of Foyers upon Loch Ness,
(a truly noble thing, if one is fortunate as to the. quantity
of water), and Glen Coe. These lie beyond the limit
of your route, and within your route I was not much
struck with anything but what everybody knows. . . .
I am glad you have seen Bolton Priory. You probably
know that Goredale, Malham Cove, and Wethercote Cove,
which lie north of Bolton, are interesting objects, though
dependent — two of them — upon water; and we have
had such a drought as was never before known.
Mrs. Wordsworth, Miss Hutchinson, and my sister,
who writes for me, join me in kindest remembrance and
sincere wishes for the recovery of your health. We are
all well, and shall be most happy to see you.
Ever sincerely yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
If you have not an introduction to Sir Walter Scott,
and should wish for one, pray let me know and I will
write to him.
134 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
CCCXLII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
,, , „. Berne, August 6th, [1820.1
My dear Sir, -» 5 » l j
We arrived here yesterday all in good health and
spirits, and very much pleased with our travels. We
intend to depart to-morrow morning for Thun, and shall
proceed by Interlaken, Grindelwald, etc., to Lucerne,
making little tours and turnings by the way. I hope it
will not be long before you find us out somewhere ; and, j
to assist you in so doing, we shall take care to leave !:.
notices at the inns of our route. We intend to go as far i
as Milan, but further than Milan I think we shall not
attempt to go, — seeing by the way all that time and e
strength will permit. Often and often have we wished t
for you while we have been in Germany. At the time of l>
till-paying, you would have saved us great trouble, and ':
sometimes no little vexation.
My brother's eyes are better, though not strong. My .
sister makes a very good traveller, and I — though not
the stoutest of the three — have done pretty well, and we -
have all enjoyed ourselves. ...
We shall all rejoice to see you. I am your faithful
and affectionate friend, Dorothy Wordsworth.
P.S. — We were delighted with Heidelberg, and with
the kindness and hospitality of your friend, Mr. Pickford,
and his family.
J
Our Intended Route
Thun
Lauterbrunnen
Over the Briinig
Interlaken
Grindelwald
To Lucerne
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 135
in
Lugano
Tarese
z
Porlezza
A-aveno
1
Menaggio on they
' Boromean Islands
be St. Gothard
Lake of Como /
Domo d'Ossola
Uinzona
Como /
Cross the Simplon
camo
Milan /
into the Valais
cccXliii
/
Dorothy Wordsidorth to Mrs, Clarkson
Milan, Sunday, September 3d, 1820.
larest Friend,
. But I forget that I am writing to you from Italy,
s a f^te day, and our quiet English Sabbath. Mary
are returned to our bedrooms, after a long walk
^h the streets to see a military exhibition. Four
ind soldiers, Bohemians and Italians with laurel
in their caps, were assembled at mass, a temporary
)eing erected for the occasion. The spectacle, with
usic, sacred and military, was very splendid. The
ig of bells n^veiL ceases. /We wait here to be sum-
l by the gentlemen to go to mass at the cathedral,
is certainly on the outside the most splendid and
ful building I ever beheld ; yet wanting the solem-
nd massiveness of a place of worship. In those re-
. how inferior to our cathedrals ! It is all of polished
e, exquisitely wrought, and the statues are not to be
sred by the gazer, but I believe there are more than
Lousand. Every small pinnacle supports a statue, the
gure lifted up to the sky. The inside is very impos-
le pillars very fine, but there are many faults to be
in the architecture. One of Buonaparte's works
he finishing of this cathedral, and I wish he had
136 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
never done an)rthing worse. Thfe Italians always call
him NapoleonCy and he seems to be a great favourite here,
and the people being what they are, and having no dig-
nified government of their own to be attached to, it is no
wonder. . . .
CCCXLIV
Dorothy Wordsworth to John Kenyon
Playford Hall, near Ipswich,
December 19th, 1820.
My dear Sir,
I received your letter dated Bracebridge this morning,
and have written to Miss Rogers to request that she will do
me the favour to permit you to see the little sarcophagus
which you mention, if it is in her possession. To prevent
loss of time I have desired Miss Rogers to be so kind as
to address a note to you at Mrs. Dunn's, Montagu Square.
I had a letter from my sister a few days ago. She
and my brother were well, and had fixed upon the 20th
as the day of their departure ; so I calculate that they will
reach home two days before Christmas.
My nephew William is here in high health and spirits.
He is to go to Cambridge on Saturday, where I shall join
him a few days before the end of his holidays ; and about
the 20th of next month I intend to set off for Rydal, so
if you are able to procure the candle-shade before that
time, I can take charge of it.
Hoping that before you again quit England your wan-
derings may lead you into the north, where we shall again
have the pleasure of meeting you, I remain, dear sir,
Yours sincerely,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 137
i Ci
be:
)q
is 5
182I
CCCXLV
Williant Wordsworth to Sir George Beaumont
6th January, 1821.
Afy dear Sir George,
Yesterday I performed a great feat — wrote no less than
seven letters, reserving yours for to-day, that I might have
more leisure, and you consequently less trouble in read-
ing. I have been a good deal tossed about since our
arrival here. Mrs. W. and I were first called away by the
sudden death of my kinsman, Mr. Myers.^ We went to
college together, and were inseparables for many years.
I saw him buried in Millom church, by the side of his
wife. The churchyard is romantically situated, Duddon
Sands on one side, and a rocky hill scattered over with
ancient trees on the other. Close by are the remains of
the old castle of the Huddlestones, part of which are con-
verted into farm-houses, and the whole embowered in tall
trees that tower up from the sides and bottom of the cir-
cular moat. The churchyard is in like manner girt round
with trees. The church is of striking architecture, and
apparently of remote antiquity.
We entered with the funeral train, the day being too
far advanced to allow the clergyman to see to read the
service, and no light had been provided, so we sat some
1 See Vol. I, p. 58, note. — Ed.
138 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
time in splemn silence. At last one candle was brought,
which served both for minister and clerk, casting a wan
light on their faces. On my right hand were two stone
figures in a recumbent position (like those of the monu-
ment in Coleorton church) — Huddlestones of other
years — and the voice of the minister was accompanied,
and almost interrupted, by the slender sobbing of a young
person, an Indian by half blood, and by the father's
side a niece of the deceased wife of the person whom
we were interring. She hung over the coffin and contin-
ued this Oriental lamentation till the service was over,
everybody else, except one faithful servant, being appar-
ently indifferent. Mrs. W., I find, has mentioned our
return by Duddonside, and how much we were pleased
with the winter appearance of my favourite river.
Since that expedition I have been called to Appleby,
and detained there upon business. In returning, I was
obliged to make a circuit which showed me for the time
several miles of the course of that beautiful stream, the
Eden, from the bridge near Temple Sowerby down to
Kirkoswald. Part of this tract of country I had indeed
seen before, but not from the same points of view. It is
a charming region, particularly at the spot where the
Eden and Emont join. The rivers appeared exquisitely
brilliant, gliding under rocks and through green mead-
ows, with woods and sloping cultivated grounds, and
pensive russet moors interspersed, and along the circuit
of the horizon, lofty hills and mountains clothed, rather
than concealed, in fieecy ck>uds and resplendent vapours.
My road brought me suddenly and unexpectedly upon
that ancient monument called by the country people
" Long Meg and her Daughters." Everybody has heard
of it, and so had I from very early childhood, but had
TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT 139
never seen it before. Next to Stonehenge, it is beyond
dispute the most noble relic of the kind that this or prob-
ably any other country contains. Long Meg is a single
block of unhewn stone, eighteen feet high, at a small dis-
tance from a vast circle of other stones, some of them of
huge size, though curtailed of their stature by their own
incessant pressure upon it.
Did you ever see that part of the Eden ? If not, you
must contrive it. I was brought to Kirkoswald, but had
not time to visit Nunnery, which I purpose to do next
summer. Indeed, we have a thought of taking the whole
course of the Eden from Carlisle upwards, which will
bring us near the source of the Lune, so that we may
track that river to Lancaster, and so return home by
Flookburgh and Cartmel.
It is now high time to say a word about Coleorton. I
often have the image before me of your pleasant labours,
and see the landscape growing under your patient hand.
The large picture you were about must be finished long
since. How are you satisfied with it ? I am not a little
proud that our scenery employs your pencil so sedulously
after a visit to the Alps. It has lost little in my estima-
tion by the comparison. At first I thought the coppice
woods — and, alas ! we have little else — very shabby sub-
stitutes for the unshorn majesty of what I had lately
seen. The rocks and crags also seem to want breadth
and repose, their surfaces appearing too often crumbled
and frittered. But, on the other hand, the comparison is
often to our advantage. The lakes and streams not only
are so much more pure and crystalline, but the surfaces
of the one and the courses of the other present a far
more attractive variety — a superiority which deserves to
be set off at length, but which will strike your practised
I40 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
mind immediately. It happened that Southey, who was
so good as to come over to see us, mentioned to me
Nichols' book ^ with great commendation.
Ever yours, ^^
CCCXLVI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Wednesday Evening, [January, 1821.]
My dearest Friend,
. . . My dear brother is quite well, and so cheerful
with the boys, it is delightful to see him. I played a
game at "Speculation" with the lads last night; but I
found it very dull compared with our Playford pools at
" Commerce." . . . Christopher " is an extraordinary boy.
If God grant him health and life, he will be an honour
to his family I feel assured. We have had a nice walk
together ; but I constantly regret Charles's • absence, to
break through the shyness of his brothers, especially of
John. He is a very thoughtful, intelligent boy, and I
doubt not an excellent scholar, but his shyness is painful
to him I think ; and he struck me as being so exceed-
ingly like Charles Lloyd, when I first met him last night,
that I felt uneasy at the resemblance. Probably he would
remind you of his mother. I do not however see the
particular likeness to her. . . .
1 Doubtless Nichols' History and Antiquities of Leicester, — Ed.
3 Christopher Wordsworth, nephew of the poet, afterwards
Bishop of Lincoln. — Ed.
^Charles Wordsworth, also nephew of the poet, afterwards
Bishop of St Andrews. — £d.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 141
CCCXLVII
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, Jan. 23, 1821.
My dear Friend,
We have had no tidings of the books which were to be
sent us by the bookseller near Charing Cross, which — if
no misfortune had happened to them — might have been
here upwards of six weeks ago. We suffer no little in-
convenience from the want of them ; and along with the
books the package contained paper, which not having
arrived, I am obliged to write to you on this shabby half
folio sheet. Everything has been unlucky relating to this
matter ; for being uneasy at not receiving the books
nearly a month since, I sent a letter to a friend to be
franked for you, your address being given in the inside
of the cover, which had been thrown into the fire I sup-
pose as soon as the letter was opened ; for to my great
mortification the letter came back to me with a notice
that my friend did not know what use was to be made of
it. . . .
I have no news from this place. My sister is still at
Cambridge. Mr. Southey came over to see me since my
return ; he is quite well, but looks older than might be
expected. He is about to publish a poem^ occasioned
by the death of his late Majesty, which will bring a nest
of hornets about his ears, and will satisfy no party. It is
written in English hexameter verse, and in some passages
with great spirit. But what do you think ? In enumer-
ating the glorified spirits of the reign of George III,
admitted along with their earthly sovereign into the new
* The Vision of Judgment, — Ed.
142 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Jerusalem, neither Dr. Johnson nor Mr. Pitt are to be
found ! Love to the laureate for this treasonable judg-
ment will be the cry of the Tories.
I am glad to find that Barry Cornwall's play ^ has been
so successful, and if you see him, pray be so kind as to
give him my congratulations. Say all that is kind to the
Lambs, and to Talfourd, and to the Monkhouses, but
with them we are in correspondence.
Mrs. Wordsworth desires her kindest remembrances.
We often talk of you, and your good humour and accom-
modating manners. _ ,
° Ever smcerely yours,
W. Wordsworth.
CCCXLVIII
William Wordsworth to John Kenyan
Rydal Mount, 5th February, 1821.
My dear Friend,
Many thanks for your valuable present of the shades,
which reached me two days ago by the hands of my sister.
I have tried them, and they answer their purpose perfectly ;
Mrs. W. says they have no fault but being over fine for
the person they are intended for ! I, on the other hand,
am pleased to see ornament engrafted upon infirmity,
and promise that I will take care neither to sully nor
spoil such elegant productions.
We have had a charming season since we reached
Westmoreland ; winter disarmed of all his terrors, and
proving that it is not necessary always to run away from
old England for the sake of fine weather.
1 The tragedy of Mirandola. — Ed.
TO JOHN KENYON 1 43
Southey was so good as to come over and see us ; he
is well, but always looks rather pale and thin in winter,
which seems to add a few years to his age. He is as
busy as ever, and about to publish a political poem which
will satisfy no party.^
. . . Cambridge is a " pleasant place," and so is Rydal
Mount. Come, and make it pleasanter ; or, if that is not
to be, let us hear at least of your movements.
My sister seems to think, and yet not to think, that she
ought to have answered your last letter; she stumbled
out an apology to be transmitted by me.
I did not like the frame of it, and said that you will
readily forgive her, if she makes up for that neglect by
additional application to her journal,^ which I am sorry
to find is little advanced, talking being, as you know, a
much more easy, and — to one party at least — a more
pleasant thing than writing.
CCCXLIX
[ William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson]
[Postmark, March 13, 1821. — Ed.]
My dear Friend,
The books arrived safe. You were very good in writing
me so long a letter ; and kind, after your own Robinsonian
way, going to inquire after our long and far banished little
one. As we hear from himself never, and of him but sel-
dom, we cannot but be at some times anxious, remember-
ing the two short fits of illness which he had last summer.
You will be pleased to hear that the two ladies are busy
1 See p. 141. — Ed.
^Journal of a Tour on the Continent (1820). — Ed.
144 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
in transcribing their journals ; neither of them have yet
reached the point where you joined us, but many a spot
where we all wished you had been with us ; often, I own
from our want of an interpreter, and not unfrequentlyfrom
less selfish motives. Your determination to withdraw from
your profession, in sufficient time for an autumnal harvest
of leisure, is of a piece with the rest of your consistent j^
resolves and practices. Consistent I have said, and why not -^
rational; the word would surely have been added, had not -
I felt that it was awkwardly loading the sentence, and so !^
truth would have been sacrificed to a point of taste, but b
for after compunction. Full surely you will do well, but take t
time ; it would be ungrateful to quit in haste a profession p
that has used you so civilly. Would that I could encour-
age the hope of passing a winter with you at Rome, about
the time you mention, which is just the period I should
myself select. But the expense is greater than I dare
think of facing, though five years hence the education of
my eldest son will be nearly finished ; but in the mean-
time I cannot foresee how we shall be able to lay by any-
thing either for travelling, or other purposes. Poor Scott ! ^
living in this solitude, we have thought more about him,
and suffered more anxiety and sorrow on his account, than
you among the many interruptions of London can have
leisure to feel. I do not recollect any other English
author's perishing in the same way. It is an innovation
the effect of others which promise no good to the repub-
lic of letters or to the country. We have had ribaldry,
and sedition, and slanders enough in our literature here-
tofore, but no epithet which these periods deserved is so
foul as that merited by the present, viz., the treacherous.
1 John Scott, editor of The Champion newspaper, and afterwards
of the London Magazine, — Ed.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 145
As to Scott, he need not have lost his life,^ if the coroner's
inquest may be trusted, but for the intemperance and igno^
ranee of his friend. At a proper time I should much wish
inquiries to be made from myself after Mrs. Scott, who
must know that I was acquainted with her husband.
This perhaps you could assist me in effecting ; in the
meanwhile could you let me know how she bears her
affliction, and what circumstances she is left in.
I have read Cornwall's tragedy,^ and think of it
pretty much as you seem to do. The feelings are cleverly
touched in it ; but the situations for exhibiting them are
produced not only by sacrifice of the respectability of the
persons concerned, but with great (and I should have
thought unnecessary) violation of probability and com-
mon sense. But it appears to me, in the present late age
of the world, a most difficult task to construct a good
tragedy, free from stale and mean contrivances, and anir
mated by new and suitable characters. So that I am in-
clined to judge Cornwall gently, and sincerely rejoice
in his success. As to poetry, I am sick of it ; it over-
rans the country in all the shapes of the plagues of
Egypt, frog-poets (the croaker's), mice-poets (the nib-
bler's), a class rhyming to mice (which shall be nameless),
and fly-poets. Gray in his dignified way calls flies the
"insect youth," a term wonderfully applicable upon this
occasion. But let us desist, or we shall be accused of
envying the rising generation ! Be assured, however, that
it is not fear of such accusation which leads me to praise
a youngster who writes verses in the Etonian, to some of
which our Cumberland paper has introduced me, and some
I saw at Cambridge. He is as hopeful, I think, as any of
^ He was killed in a duel. — Ed.
' Mirandola* — £d.
146 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
them — by name Montsay.^ If you should ever fall in
with him, tell him that he has pleased me much. My
sister sends her very kind love, and expressions of bitter
regret that she did not see you at Cambridge, where
Mary and I passed thirteen days ; and what with the
company (although I saw very little of him) of my dear
brother, our stately apartments, with all the venerable
portraits there, that awe one into humility, old friends
and new acquaintances, and a thousand familiar remem-
brances, and freshly conjured-up recollections, I enjoyed
myself not a little. I should like to send you a sonnet
composed at Cambridge, but it is reserved for cogent
reasons — to be imparted in due time. I have been scrib-
bling with an infamous pen, and we have no quills,—
which makes the further want of a new sheet the less
regretted. Farewell. Happy shall we be to see you. . . .
Congratulate Talf ourd from me upon his new honours '
and add a thousand good wishes.
CCCL
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
March 27, [1821.]
My dearest Friend,
. . . William is quite well, and very busy, though he
has not looked at The Recluse or the poem on his own
1 So it is written in the MS. The reference is to John Moultrie
(1799-1874), poet and clergyman, who wrote in the Etonian^ and in
Knighfs Quarterly^ under the nom de plume of Gerard Montgomery.
In the Etonian^ in 1820, appeared My Brother's Grave, and Godiva;
also lines on The Coliseum, and an article "On Wordsworth's Poetry,"
signed G. M. — Ed.
^ Sergeant Talf ourd was called to the Bar in 1821. He married
in 1822. — Ed.
p
TO MRS. CLARKSON 147
life ; and this disturbs us. After fifty years of age there
is no time to spare, and unfinished works should not, if it
be possible, be left behind. This he feel3, but the will
never governs his labours. How different from Southey,
who can go as regularly as clock-work, from history to
poetry, from poetry to criticism, and so on to biography,
or anything else. If their minds could each spare a little
to the other, how much better for bothl William is at
present composing a series of sonnets on a subject which
I am sure you would never divine, — the Church of Eng-
land, — but you will perceive that, in the hands of a poet,
it is one that will furnish ample store of poetic materials.
In some of the sonnets he has, I think, been most suc-
cessful. . . . Have you seen Southey's Vision of Judg-
ment 1 I like both the metre, and most part of the poem,
very much. It is composed with great animation, and
some passages are very beautiful ; but the intermixture of
familiar names pushes you down a frightful descent at
times, and I wish he had avoided the very words of Scrip-
ture. The king has sent him a message that he had
read the poem twice over, and thanks him for the dedi-
cation. . . .
CCCLI
William Wordsworth to Viscount Lowther
March 28th, 1821.
... I am truly sorry for what you say about the prob-
able fate of the Catholic question, and feel grateful to
you as an Englishman for your persevering exertions.
Canning's speech, as given in the Morning Chronicle and
Courier^ is a tissue of glittering declamation and slender
148 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
sophistry. He does not appear to look at the effect of
this measure upon the dissenters at all ; and as to the
inference that the catholics will be quiet when possessed
of their object, because they have been patient under
their long privation, first, we may deny the premises—
has not every concession been employed as a vantage-
ground for another attack ? and, had it been otherwise, is
it true that they have been patient ? What says history
as to the long enduring quiet of men who have an object
in view ? The grandees of the Puritans, says Heylyn in
his life of archbishop Laud,^ after the first heats were
over in Queen Elizabeth's time, carried their work for
thirty years together, like moles under the ground, not
casting, up any earth before them, till they had made so
strong a party in the House of Commons ais was able to
hold the thing to their own conditions. Mr. Canning
finds the Catholic peers supporters of episcopacy in
Charles the First's time, and concludes, therefore, that they
were friends to the Church of England, because bishops
make a part of its constitution. Would it not have been
more consonant to history to ascribe this care of reformed
bishoprics to the love of an institution favourable to that
exaltation of religion by which abuses were produced
that wrought the overthrow of papacy in England, and
to some lurking expectations that if the sees could be
preserved, they might not improbably be filled at no
distant time by catholic prelates. . . .
^ The title of Heylyn*s book is Cyprianus Anglicus. — Ed.
TO VISCOUNT LOWTHER 1 49
CCCLII
William Wordsworth to Viscount Lowther
[No date, but evidently 1821.]
... I have read with the utmost attention the debates
on the Catholic question. The opinion I share with you
remains unaltered. We have heard much of candour and
forbearance, etc., but these qualities appear to be all on
one side, viz. on that of the advocates of existing laws.
Among the innovators there is a haughtiness, an air of
insolent superiority to light and knowledge, which no
strength of argimient could justify, much less the soph-
isms and assiunptions which they advance. I am aware
that if the Catholics are to get into Parliament, ambition
and worldly interest will have keen sway over them as
over other men ; and it need not be dreaded, therefore,
that they will all be, upon every occasion, upon one side.
But still the esprit de corps cannot but be stronger with
diem than other bodies for obvious reasons ; and looking
at the constitution of the House, how nicely balanced
parties have often been, and what small majorities have
repeatedly decided most momentous questions, I cannot
but tremble at the prospect of introducing men who may
turn, and (if they act consistently with the spirit of their
religion, and even with its open professions) must turn
their mutual fidelity against our Protestant establishment,
till, in co-operation with other dissenters and infidels,
they have accomplished its overthrow. . . .
. . . The Catholic claims are to be referred to a com-
mittee ! God grant that these people may be baffled !
How Mr. Canning and other enemies to reform in Par-
liament can, without gross inconsistency, be favourers of
I50 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
their cause, I am unable to conceive. Mr. Canmng
objects to reform because it would be the means of send-
ing into the House of Commons members whose station,
opinions, and sentiments differ from those of the persons
who are now elected, and who would prove less friendly
to the constitution in Church and State. Good heavens I
and won't this be the case to a mosr formidable extent if
you admit Catholics, a measure to be followed up, as it
inevitably will, sooner or later, with the abolition of the
Test and Corporation acts, and a proportional increase
of the political power of the dissenters, who are to a man
hostile to the Church. . . .
CCCLIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[May, 182 1.]
My dearest Friend,
... I can walk with as little fatigue as when I was
twenty. Not long ago my brother and I spent a whole
day on the mountains. We went by a circuitous road
to the top of Fairfield, walking certainly not less than
fourteen miles; and I was not in the least tired. My
brother is still hard at work with his sonnets. ... I
have not yet finished my journal, though at times I have
worked very hard from ten o'clock in the morning till
dinner time, at four. When it is done, I fear it will prove
very tedious reading even to friends, who have not them-
selves visited the places where we were. Had not my
brother so very much wished me to do my best, I am
sure I should never have had the . resolution to go fur-
ther than just re-copy what I did by snatches, and very
TO MRS. CLARKSON 151
irregularly, at the time ; but to please him I have amplified
and arranged; and a long affair will come out of it,
which I cannot think any person can possibly have the
patience to read through ; but which, through sympathy
and a desire to revive dormant recollections, may in
patches be interesting to a few others. For my own sake,
however, the time is not thrown away ; and when we are
dead and gone, any memorial of us will be satisfactory to
the children, especially Dorothy. Her mother's journal
is already transcribed, and not being so lengthy as mine,
it cannot but be interesting, and very amusing. She
has read it to Mrs. Gee and Miss L., . . . and they
were delighted. Her course was much wiser than mine.
She wrote regularly and straightforward, and has done
little more than re-copy; whereas, all that I did would
have been almost worthless, dealt with in that way.
There is some excuse for me in my illness which threw
me back. I have not read a single word of Mary's, —
being determined to finish my own first, and then make
comparisons for correction, and insertion of what I may
have omitted. . . .
CCCLIV
William Wordsworth to Sir Walter Scott
Rydal Mount, Aug. 23, 1821.
Dear Sir Walter,
The bearer, Mr. Robinson, being on a tour in Scot-
land, is desirous of the honour of an introduction to you ;
which, though aware of the multiplicity of your engage-
ments, and sensible of the value of your time, I have
not scrupled to give. Mr. R. is a highly esteemed
friend of myself, and of those who are dearest to me ; he
152 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
accompanied us during our tour among the Alps last sum-
mer, and I can say from experience that he will prove no
unworthy spectator of anything which you may be kind
enough to recommend to his notice in that country which
you have so nobly illustrated. Mr. R. has been much
upon the Continent, and is extensively read in German lit-
erature, speaking the language with the ease of a native.
In the last letter I had from you, you spoke of the
pleasure you should have in revisiting our Arcadia. I
assure you that you would be most welcome. When I
think how small is the space between your residence
upon the Tweed and mine in the valley of Ambleside, I
wonder we see so little of each other. In all cases, how-
ever, believe me, with sincere regard and high admiration,
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
Mrs. W. and my sister unite with me in remembrances
to yourself and Mrs. Scott.
CCCLV
William Wordsworth to Walter Savage Landor
Rydal Mount, near Ambleside,
September 3d, 1821.
My dear Sir,
... I feel myself much honoured by the present of
your book of Latin poems, ^ and it arrived at a time when
I had the use of my eyes for reading ; and with great
pleasure did I employ them in the perusal of the disser-
tation annexed to your poems, which I read several
times ; but the poems themselves I have not been able
to look into, for I was seized with a fit of composition at
1 The Idyllia Heroica decern Pisa^ 1820. — Ed.
TO WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR 153
that time, and deferred the pleasure to which your poems
invited me till I could give them an undivided attention.
. . . We live here somewhat singularly circumstanced —
in solitude during nearly nine months of the year, and for
the rest in a round of engagements. I have nobody
near me who reads Latin, so that I can only speak of
your essay from recollection. You will not perhaps be
surprised when I state that I differ from you in opinion
as to the propriety of the Latin language being employed
by moderns for works of taste and imagination. Miser-
able would have been the lot of Dante, Ariosto, and
Petrarch, if they had preferred the Latin to their mother
tongue (there is, by-the-by, a Latin translation of Dante
which you do not seem to know), and what could Milton,
who was surely no mean master of the Latin tongue,
have made of his Paradise Losty had that vehicle been
employed instead of the language of the Thames and
Severn ! Should we even admit that all modern dialects
are comparatively changeable, and therefore limited in
their efficacy, may not the sentiment which Milton so
pleasingly expresses, when he says he is content to be read
m his native isle only, be extended to durability ; and is
it not more desirable to be read with affection and pride,
and familiarly for five hundred years, by all orders of minds
and all ranks of people, in your native tongue, than only
by a few scattered scholars for the space of three thou-
sand? Had your idylliums been in English, I should
long ere this have been as well acquainted with them as
with your Gebir^ and with your other poems.
I met with a hundred things in your Dissertation^ thsX fell
m with my own judgments, but there are many opinions
^ Doubtless the prose appendix to Idyllia Heroka^ entitled De
CultM atqiu Usu LaHni Sermones^ etc., at p. 215 of which occurs a
complimentary reference to Wordsworth. — Ed.
154 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
which I should like to talk over with you. Several of
the separate remarks, upon Virgil in particular, though
perfectly just, would perhaps have been better placed in
notes or an appendix ; they are details that obstruct the
view of the whole. Are you not also penurious in your
praise of Gray ? The fragment at the commencement of
his fourth book, in which he laments the death of West,
in cadence and sentiment, touches me in a manner for
which I am grateful. The first book also of the same
poems appears to me as well executed as anything of
that kind is likely to be. Is there not a speech of Solon
to which the concluding couplet of Gray's sonnet bears a
more pointed resemblance than to any of the passages
you have quoted ? He was told not to grieve for the loss
of his son, as tears would be of no avail ; '* and for that
very reason," replied he, " do I weep." It is high time I
should thank you for the honourable mention you have
made of me. It could not but be grateful to me to be
praised by a poet who has written verses of which I would
rather have been the author than of any produced in our
time. What I now write to you, I have frequently said
to many. . . .
I remain, my dear sir, sincerely yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCLVI
William Wordsworth to John Kenyon
Rydal Mount, Sept. 22d, 1821.
My dear Sir,
My eyes are better than when you were here, but an
amanuensis is still expedient, and Mrs. W. therefore writes
TO JOHN KENYON 1 55
for me to the whistling of as melancholy a wind as ever
blew, coming as it does after a long series of broken wea-
ther, which has been injurious to the harvest, and when
we were calculating upon a change for the better. The
season with us has been much less unfavourable, I fear,
than in many other parts, — though our exercise has never
been altogether prevented, and we have had some beau-
tiful days. Two schemes of " particular pleasure " have
been frustrated thus far, a second trip to Borrowdale —
mcluding the summit of Scawf ell — and, for my daugh-
ter and her school-companions, an excursion to Fumess
Abbey. Anxiously have they looked in vain for steadily
bright weather, thinking little about the spoiling of the
crops by the damp days, rains, and winds.
Since your departure we have seen no persons of note
except Dr. Holland, the Albanian Iraveller, and otherwise
less agreeably distinguished. We have two additional
neighbours (not to speak of the new-born Rotha, for that
name the infant is to bear in honour of the stream upon
whose banks she was born) under Mr. Quillinan's roof,
in the persons of Colonel Holmes and his lady, sister to
Mrs. Q. The colonel is a good-natured old soldier, who
has risen without purchase to his present rank, and stood
the brunt of war in the peninsula and in America. At
Ambleside there was a gay ball ; for such it appeared to
many contributors to its splendour, but not so to the para-
doxical lady of Calgarth.^ She thought nothing .of it,
because there was no gentleman there, as she said^ " above
five feet eight inches," — though there were present two
handsome officers, one a Waterloo medalist, and both of
good stature. This lady's ideal of a partner — and such
^Calgarth Hall, the residence of the Bishop of Landaff. — Ed.
156 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
she hoped to meet — is a ** tall slender person with black
hair and a bald front." What a pity that you, or your
brother, could not have been put into a stretching machine,
and conveyed to Ambleside by steam, through the air, or
under the earth. Fashion and fancy, I can assure you,
run high in this neighbourhood as to these matters. At
Keswick resides a Miss Stanger, her father a Cheapside
trader who has built a house near the vicarage. This lady,
celebrated for beauty, enviable for fortune, would not
allow that a ball could be mustered at Keswick by all
the collegians there. " Send for a parcel of officers from
Carlisle," said she, " and then something may be done."
What a slight upon the gown ! and from a blue-stocking
lady too, who is an klhve of Mrs. Grant ^ of the Mountains!
" Come, come," said ^he to a young Oxonian, " let us
walk out this eveni^g^at I may catch a cold, and have
an excuse for not going to the thing ! " *
Dear Mr. Kenyon,
Writing in my own name, I thank you, while William is
taking a turn, after dictating the above flourish, for your
agreeable and acceptable present which was duly received.
The char shall be forwarded to the address, as soon as
we can procure any that we know to be excellent. I
shall anxiously expect your next commission^ which I hope
will be to look out for a house. By-the-by, Mr. Gee has
taken one at Keswick, so it will be well to know what
Mf. Tillbrook means to do with the Ivy Cot, which will
^ Mrs. Grant of Laggan, author of Letters from the Mountains. —
Ed.
^ Sarah Hutchinson must have read this letter before it was dis-
patched, because she inserts the remark here : <* Not true. She said
* the baU.' S. H. " — Ed.
TO JOHN KEN YON 1 57
be vacant next Whitsuntide. But I must not consume
more space, as W. is not done. Very sincerely yours,
Willy leaves us to-morrow. . _ „,
^ M. W.
I was going to say something about your tour, but
Mrs. W. tells me that what I meant to speak of was men-
tioned when you were here, so nothing remains but good
wishes in which all my family join, both to yourself and
to your brother, who stands in particular need of them if
he meditates marriage.
Very affectionately yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCLVII
William Wordsworth to Francis Chantrey
Rydal Mount, Oct., 182 1.
My dear Sir,
If I recollect right I ordered seven casts. ^ One of
them was intended for the bearer of this, my friend Mr.
Robinson. He wishes to have another, and possibly more,
with which I beg he may be furnished ; for which himself
will pay, and give directions whither they are to be sent.
If I am not mistaken, the price which the person making
these casts charges is four guineas. Allow me to ask
whether, in case fifteen or twenty are required, he could
not supply them at a lower rate for the accommodation
of my friends.
Since my last I have heard from Sir George Beaumont,
who expresses himself in the highest terms of the bust,
1 Of his bust of the poet. — Ed.
158 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
and adds a world of most agreeable thfngs concerning its
author, — both as an artist and a man, — which it would
give me pleasure to repeat, but I spare your blushes.
I have requested Mr. Carruthers, who painted a por-
trait of me some years ago,^ to call for a sight of the bust.
He is an amiable young man, whom a favourable open-
ing induced to sacrifice the pencil to the pen, not the pen
of authorship, — he is too wise for that, — but the pen of
the counting house, which he is successfully driving at
Lisbon. I remain, with sincere regards from Mrs. W. and
my sister, to yourself and Mrs. Chantrey,
Most faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCLVIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Nov. 24, 1 82 1.
My dear Friend,
The three or four days after you left us were most pro-
vokingly sunny and delightful. I cannot say that we have
had much vexation of the like kind since that time; for
the rain has day by day fallen in torrents with a chance
twenty-four hours of fine weather between; and we con-
soled ourselves as well as we could for our mortification
in having lost you before the fine weather came, in think-
ing that it would make your journey pleasant on the out-
side of the coach, and also in remembering how cheerful
and merry we were in spite of wind and rain, during the
short time you were with us. ... I write now because I
ilniSi;. — Ed.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 159
have to ask your advice for a young man, the son of our
friend Mrs. Cookson of Kendal, who is in the last year of
his clerkship with a solicitor at Kendal, and is looking
forward to his removal to London. . . . Will you be so
good as to point out what seems to you most likely to be
serviceable in the regulation of his views ? — and perhaps
you may know some respectable solicitor who may be
inclined to take him into his office. Mr. Strickland Cook-
son is a remarkably steady and sensible young man, very
attentive to business, and has, I doubt not, given great
satisfaction to his present master; and you already know
from us that he is come of good parents. . . . He has no
particular wish to settle in the country after his clerkship,
rather the contrary ; though we think that he would have
a better chance than most young men in his native town.
If there should be an opening for him in London, he would
prefer settling there. *
I mention these circumstances, that you may be the
better able to judge what kind of practice for the time he
has yet to serve may be most likely to profit him; and
perhaps in thinking the matter over you may hit upon
some judicious friend or acquaintance in the law who may
be glad to take such a young man into his service. . . .
I should have continued to wait yet a week or two
longer in hopes of a letter fronv you, but for the present
opportunity. You know you had several matters to write
about. Do not forget the pulpit at Brussels, and if you
have any notes respecting Milan cathedral, I should be
grateful if you would send them. . . .
My brother's eyes are no worse. He has written some
beautiful poems since you left us, which — as Miss
Hutchinson has transcribed them for Mr. Monkhouse —
you will have an opportunity of seeing. I am sure they
l6o DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
will delight both you and him. The sonnets have been
at rest.
Poor Mrs. Quillinan has been removed to Lancaster;
and you will be sorry to hear that her mind is not more
settled than when Mrs. W. was attending upon her, though
she is less turbulent. Her eldest little girl is with Mrs.
Gee ; and her husband at present goes to visit her. My
brother accompanied Mr. Q. on a tour to the Caves,
Studley Park, Knaresborough, and York. This was of
great service to the forlorn husband, who is sadly un-
settled at home. My brother very much enjoyed his tour.
I have not had a single line from my dear and good friend,
Mrs. Clarkson, since Playford Hall had the honour of
becoming a royal residence ; and we have been anxious
to hear how the parties were satisfied with each other, on
nearer acquaintance. Mrs. C. talked of going to London
before Christmas ; and perhaps she is there now, for the
papers tell us that the Queen and Princesses have left
Playford.
It gave us great concern to hear of the death of John
Lamb.^ Though his brother and sister did not see very
much of him, the loss will be deeply felt. Pray tell us
particularly how they are, and give our kind love to them.
I fear Charles's pen will be stopped for a time. What
delightful papers he has .lately written for that otherwise
abominable magazine I The Old King's Benchers ^ is
exquisite ; indeed the only one I do not quite like is the
Grace before Meat
I hope you see the Monkhouses often, though he has
become a home-stayer. I cannot express how it would
1 John Lamb, " the broad, burly, jovial," as Talford put it, died in
November, 1821. — Ed.
2 The Old Benchers of the Inner Temple. — Ed.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON i6l
grieve me if anything should prevent their intended jour-
ney next summer. It seemed quite unnatural not to have
him amongst us during some part of the last. . . .
It is eleven o'clock. I have yet another letter to write.
Believe me, dear friend and fellow-traveller,
Yours faithfully,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
I have been reading to my brother what I had written
concerning Strickland Cpokson, and he desires me to add
that Mr. Wilson of Kendal, whom he serves at present,
has respectable connexions in London, among whom is
Mr. Addison of Staple Inn, successor to, and formerly
partner with, our late brother ; but it is thought here that
it would be more advantageous to the young man to be
placed in an ofEce where he might meet with more exten-
sive practice.
Amongst the poems is one to the memory of poor God-
dard, which probably would never have been written but
for your suggestion.^ How often do I think of that night
when you first introduced that interesting youth to us ! At
this moment I see in my mind's eye the lighted saloriy
you in your great coat, and the two slender tall figures
following you !
My brother says that you will probably like to have your-
self a copy of the stanzas above-mentioned ; and also you
promised to seek an opportunity (if ever it should be com-
posed) to send this tribute to poor Goddard's memory to his
mother in America. [In Wordsworth's hand.] By no means
read the poem to any verse-writer, or magazine scribbler,
1 See Elegiac Stanzas, in " Memorials of a Tour in the Conti-
nent " (1820). Poetical Works, Eversley edition, Vol. VI, p. 372. — Ed.
1 62 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Have you seen the Edinburgh magazine with the arti-
cles signed S. T. Coleridge ? My brother has not ; for
he will not suffer it to come into his house, as you know;
but we females have. We found the matter too dull to
be read by us ; mostly unintelligible, and think it cannot
be Coleridge's.*
CCCLIX I
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Rydal Mount, Dec. 4, 1821.
... I should think that I had lived to little purpose
if my notions on the subject of government had under-
gone no modification. My youth must, in that case, have
been without enthusiasm, and my manhood endued with
small capability of profiting by reflection. If I were
addressing those who have dealt so liberally with the
words "renegade," "apostate," etc., I should retort the
charge upon them, and say. You have been deluded by
places and persons^ while I have stuck to principles. I
abandoned France, and her rulers, when they abandoned
the struggle for liberty, gave themselves up to tjranny,
and endeavoured to enslave the world. I disapproved of
the war against France at its commencement, thinking —
which was perhaps an error — that it might have been
avoided; but after Buonaparte had violated the inde-
pendence of Switzerland, my heart turned against him,
and against the nation that could submit to be the instru-
ment of such an outrage. Here it was that I parted, in
feeling, from the Whigs, and to a certain degree united with
1 H. C. Robinson had assured Dorothy Wordsworth in a letter
to which this is a reply that the articles were Coleridge's. — Ed.
/
TO LORD LONSDALE 163
adversaries, who were free from the delusion (such
St ever regard it) of Mr. Fox and his party, that a
ind honourable peace was practicable with the French
n, and that an ambitious conqueror like Buonaparte
I be softened down into a commercial rival,
lis is enough for foreign politics, as influencing my
hments.
lere are three great domestic questions, viz. the lib-
)f the press. Parliamentary reform, and Roman Cath-
concession, which, if I briefly advert to, no more
be said at present.
free discussion of public measures through the press
*m the only safeguard of liberty; without it I have
er confidence in kings, parliaments, judges, or divines.
have all in their turn betrayed their country. But
>ress, so potent for good, is scarcely less so for evil ;
mfortunately they who are misled and abused by its
IS are the persons whom it can least benefit. It is
atal characteristic of their disease to reject all reme-
coming from the quarter that has caused or aggra-
i the malady. I am therefore for vigorous restrictions ;
here is scarcely any abuse that I would not endure,
:r than sacrifice — or even endanger — this freedom,
hen I was young — giving myself credit for qualities
[1 I did not possess, and measuring mankind by that
lard — I thought it derogatory to human nature to
ip property in preference to person, as a title for
lative power. That notion has vanished. I now per-
: many advantages in our present complex system
presentation, which formerly eluded my observation,
has tempered my ardour for reform ; but if any plan
I be contrived for throwing the representation fairly
the hands of the property of the country, and not
1 64 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
leaving it so much in the hands of the large proprietors
as it now is, it should have my best support ; though even
in that event there would be a sacrifice of personal rights,
independent of property, that are now frequently exercised
for the benefit of the community.
Be not startled when I say that I am averse to further
concessions to the Roman Catholics. My reasons are,
that such concessions will not produce harmony among
the Roman Catholics themselves ; that those among them
who are most clamorous for the measure care little about
it but as a step, first, to the overthrow of the Protestant
establishment in Ireland, as introductory to a separation
of the two countries — their ultimate aim. . . . Deeming
the Church establishment not only a fundamental part
of our Constitution, but one of the greatest upholders and
propagators of civilisation in our own country, and, lastly,
the most effectual and main support of religious tolera-
tion, I cannot but look with jealousy upon measures
which must reduce her relative influence, unless they be
accompanied with arrangements, more adequate than any
yet adopted, for the preservation and increase of that
influence, to keep pace with the other powers in the
community.
CCCLX
William Wordsworth to Francis Wrangham
[Undated.]
[He referred to the efforts of a society to distribute
copies of the Christian Scriptures, which he cordially
approved of, but added] As to the indirect benefits
expected from it, as producing a golden age of unanimity
among Christians, all that I think fume and emptiness;
TO FRANCIS WRANGHAM 165
far worse. So deeply am I persuaded that discord
sirtifice, and pride and ambition would be fostered
ich an approximation and unnatural alliance of sects,
[ am inclined to think the evil thus produced would
than outweigh the good done by dispersing the
•&• • • •
CCCLXI
Mary Wordsworth to John Kenyon
Rydal Mount, Dec. 28th, [1821.]
ear Sir,
lave been waiting for your address for some time to
ou that Fleming's house at the bottom of the hill is
ed, and that I have a promise of the refusal, and
fore want your directions about it. Under existing
oastances I suspect that I am not to have the pleas-
f taking it for you, but I must hear this from your-
•efore I give up my claim. Tillbrooke some time ago
Loned your wise intentions to us, which we had before
suspected ; indeed Sarah bids me tell you that she
ilways sure " you were in love^* and that it was you,
lot your brother (as you cunningly hinted), that was
come a married man. That your happiness may go
d your anticipations is the sincere wish of all your
Is under Nab Scar, who by the bye want no pack-
from Twining's to remind them of you, and your
er, and of the days of particular pleasure that you
d among them. That season has been long gone
nd Rydal Mount is now as notorious for its indus-
5 at that time it was for its idleness. The poet
een busily engaged upon subjects connected with our
1 66 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
Continental journey, and if you have leisure and inclination
to call upon Mr. Monkhouse, 34 Gloster Place, you have
permission to ask for a perusal of certain poems in his
possession. He was charged not to give copies, and for
obvious reasons you would not wish for an exception in
your case. You will also see another late production in
Gloster Place, which will be shown, I doubt not, with
no little pride. Miss W. is going on with her journal,
which will be ready to go to press interspersed with her
brother's poems, I hope before you return. I do not say
this seriously^ but we sometimes jestingly talk of raising a
fund by such means for a second, and a further, trip into
Italy! ...
CCCLXII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
A thousand thanks for your interesting letter, this
moment arrived. Luckily the enclosed was detained, or
I should not have been able to have told you how much
pleasure yours has given us; yet we have been greatly
shocked with the sad news of Mary Lamb's recent attack.
It must have been before the death of her brother, and
the awakening to that sorrow how very dismal. Your ac-
count of Charles is just what we expected. And are
those articles really Coleridge's? It was much more
pleasant to me to accuse the Blackwoodites of having
libelled him than to believe that he had really been a
contributor to the magazine. Besides there seems to me
to be a perplexity (and even a poverty often) in the
style^ which do not belong to Coleridge. His matter is,
God knows, often obscure enough to unlearned readers
like me.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 167
My brother very often talks of you, and of our tours
with you. He has laid no Irish scheme as yet, but
most likely you will hear of one.
Your account of William ^ gives great delight to all, yet
we are hungering after tidings of the beginning of pains-
taking at his books.
God bless you ! Believe me, your affectionate friend,
D. Wordsworth.
CCCLXIII
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
[Date unknown, possibly 1821.]
... A rule which I have inexorably adhered to pre-
vents me from complying with the request you make. . . .
Ify determination has been thus far to have no connec-
tion with any periodical publication. If ever I set it
iside, it will be probably in the instance of the Retrospec-
tive J^eview,^ which if it kept to its title would stand
ipart from contemporary literature and the injurious feel-
ngs which are too apt to mix with the critical part of
t I am, sir.
Very sincerely your obliged servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
1 The poet's son. — Ed.
2 Published from 1820 to 1854. — Ed.
1 68 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
1822
CCCLXIV
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
[ Date unknown.]
. . . You will probably see Gifford, the editor of the
Quarterly Review, Tell him from me, if you think
proper, that every true-born Englishman disallows the
pretensions of the Review to the character of a faith-
ful defender of the institutions of the country, while it
leaves that infamous publication, Donjuan^ unbranded.
I do not mean by a formal critique, for it is not worth it
— it would also tend to keep it in memory — but by some
decisive words of reprobation, both as to the damnable
tendency of such works, and as to the despicable quality
of the powers requisite for their production.
What avails it to hunt down Shelley and leave Byron
untouched ? I am persuaded that Don Juan will do more
harm to the English character than anything of our time;
not so much as a book, but thousands, who will be
ashamed to have it in that shape, will fatten upon choice
bits of it in the shape of extracts. . . .
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 169
CCCLXV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
[Postmark, Kendal, i6th Jan., 1822.]
earest Friend,
. William and I have walked daily through all the
y season. . . . William has written some beautiful
5 in remembrance of our late tour. . . . He never
anything that was more delightful. He began (as
inection with my Recollections of a Tour in Scotland^
iaying, ** I will write some poems for your journal,**
thankfully received two or three of them as a trib-
the journal, which I was making from memoranda
in our last summer's journey on the Continent;
is work has grown to such importance (and has
lued growing) that I have long ceased to consider
:onnection with my own narrative of events unim-
it, and lengthy descriptions. . . . The poems are as
as a descriptive tour, without describing . . . The
iastical Sonnets^ meanwhile, are at rest. . . .
CCCLXVI
orothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
3d March, 1822.
sar Friend,
s fit that I should begin with my reason for writing
1 on the very day of the receipt of your letter, that
lay not be afflicted with the thought that you had no
r cast a burthen off your shoulders than another
eady to be cast upon them. It is very unfair in
ipondence for one party, in the first motions of
I70 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
gratitude for pleasure received, to write off immediately ;
but indeed it is a species of selfishness of which I confess
I have been too often guilty. ... I can only say that
whenever your letters come, sooner or later, they are joy-
fully received and highly prized ; the oftener the better,
but however seldom and however slowly, we are never
inclined to think ourselves neglected or ill-used. My
brother will, I hope, write to Charles Lamb in the course
of a few days. He has long talked of doing it ; but you
know how the mastery of his own thoughts (when engaged
in composition, as he has lately been) often prevents him
from fulfilling his best intentions ; and since the weakness
of his eyes has returned, he has been obliged to fill up all
spaces of leisure by going into the open air for refresh-
ment and relief. We are thankful that the inflammation
(chiefly in the lids) is now much abated. It concerns us
very much to hear so indifferent an account of Lamb and
his sister. The death of their brother I have no doubt
has affected them much more than the death of any
brother, with whom there had — in near neighbourhood —
been so little personal or family communication would
have affected other minds. We deeply lamented their
loss, and wished to write to them as soon as we heard of
it ; but it not being the particular duty of any one of us,
— and a painful task, — we shoved it off, for which we are
truly sorry, and very much blame ourselves. They are
too good, and too confiding, to take it unkindly; and
that thought makes me feel it the more.
Sergeant Rough was an intimate friend of my brother
Christopher* at college. I used to hear him much
1 William Rough (i 772-1838), a conteitaporary of Samuel Taylor
Coleridge and Christopher Wordsworth at Cambridge, and one of
the projectors of the University Magazine of 1795* ^^ became a
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 171
spoken of, but never saw him. Poor man 1 his lot in this
world has been a hard one — a thoughtless wife, and an
undermining friend — what sorer evils can beset a man !
Your affecting comment upon his death reminded me of a
sonnet of my brother's on the subject of ruined abbeys,^
which I will not quote as you will so soon have an oppor-
tunity of reading the sonnet among the Ecclesiastical
Sketches, The thought in that part to which I allude is
taken from George Dyer's History of Cambridge,
With respect to the tour poems I am afraid you will
think his notes not sufficiently copious. Prefaces he has
none, except to the poem on Goddard's death. Your
suggestion of the bridge at Lucerne set his mind to work;
and if a happy mood comes on, he is determined even
yet, though the work is printed, to add a poem on that
subject. You can have no idea with what earnest pleas-
ure he seized the idea ; yet, before he began to write at
all, when he was pondering over his recollections, and ask-
ing me for hints and thoughts, I mentioned that very sub-
ject, and he then thought he could make nothing of it. You
certainly have the gift of setting him on fire. When I
named (before your letter was read to him) your scheme
for next autumn, his countenance flushed with pleasure,
and he exclaimed, "I'll go with him"; and then I ven-
tured to utter a thought, which had risen before and been
suppressed in the moment of its rising ! " How / should
like to go." Presently, however, the conversation took a
sober turn, — my "unlawful desires" were completely
barrister at the Inner Temple, and was afterwards Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court in Ceylon, where he died. He wrote several vol-
umes of verse, dramas, and miscellaneous poems. — Ed.
1 See "Old Abbeys," No. xxxv, Part III of the Ecclesiastical
Sonnets, — Ed.
172 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
checked, — and he concluded that for him the journey
would be impossible ; " and then," said he, " if you, or
Mary, or both, were not with me, I should not half enjoy
it, — and that (so soon again) is impossible."
We have had a letter from Mr. Monkhouse to-day.
He talks of taking a house in the neighbourhood of Lon-
don ; but as they had once an idea of coming into Lan-
cashire, — which circumstances in Mr. Horrock's family
have prevented, — we can see no reason why they should
not, instead, take lodgings for the spring, and early part of
the summer, in this neighbourhood ; and Miss Hutchinson
has written to them to that effect. It will be a pity if the
circumstance of having already taken a house should pre-
vent our having the pleasure of having them as neigh-
bours. The Quillinans have taken Mr. Tillbrook's house,
and will be settled there in about a fortnight: They are
at present at Lancaster. . . . We are exceedingly sorry
that the Gees are gone entirely from Rydal. No neigh-
bours could have been kinder or better suited to us, m
age and all other respects. Poor Mrs. Gee was called
away a fortnight ago to attend the sick-bed of one of her
sisters, and the next week Mr. Gee followed her to be
present at the sister's funeral. They had before taken a
house at Keswick; but they are so loth to leave the
neighbourhood, and us, that they are determined to be at
Ambleside instead of Keswick, and to get rid of their
house there.
We have had a long and interesting letter from Mrs.
Clarkson, with an account of the manners, characters,
habits, etc., of the sable Queen, and her daughters. Not-
withstanding bad times Mrs. C. writes in cheerful spirits,
and talks of coming into the north this summer ; and we
really hope it will not end in talk^ as Mr. Clarkson joins
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 173
•
with her ; and if he once determines, a trifle will not stop
him. Pray read a paper in the London Magazine by H.
Coleridge on the "Uses of the Heathen Mythology in
Poetry." ^ It has pleased us very much. The style is
wonderful, for so young a man ; so little of effort and no
affectation. Poor Coleridge ! have you seen his adver-
tisement for pupils? 2 How beautifully Charles Lamb
speaks of Grays Inn gardens, and his meeting with the
old actor there.
Miss Hutchinson has just reminded me that you are
now on the circuit. Perhaps I might have something to
add before your return ; but, as a letter is safe, and off
my mind, when put into the post office, — and it will keep
very well, and be ready to welcome you when you return to
your solitary chambers, — I will e'en send it off. At that
time you may have more leisure than at any other, to
read — perhaps I ought to say decipher — my scrawling.
I hope the poems will then be published ; but if not, you
must not indulge the hope of finding the " Bridge of Lu-
cem " among them. I do not think that work can be
accomplished in time, much as my brother would wish it;
but you may depend upon it that something will come of
your suggestion.
1 This article appeared in Vol. V, p. 113, of the London Maga-
zim. — Ed.
3 The following paragraph appeared in ordinary type, not as an
advertisement, in The Courier of Monday evening, Feb. 25, 1822.
" Mr. Coleridge proposes to devote a determinate portion of each
week to a small and select number of gentlemen not younger than
19 or 20, for the purpose of assisting them in the formation of their
minds and the regulation of their studies. The plan, which is divided
between direct instruction and conversation, the place, and other
particulars may be learnt by personal application to Mr. Coleridge
at Highgate." — Ed.
174 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
My sister says, " Mind you thank Mr. Robinson a
hundred times for his kindness to Willy." Poor little
fellow I he will certainly I think be removed from the
Charter-house, but my brother is undecided in the choice
of another school. We have every reason to be dissatis-
fied with his late progress ; rather I should say we are
satisfied he has made no progress at all in learning. All
join in kind remembrances. Remember, when you happen
to have half an hour's leisure, we shall always be glad to
hear from you. You must think nothing of what I have j^
said of my brother's longings to roam with you among
the Tyrolese. It will be quite impossible, I am sure.
God bless you. Believe me, •
Your grateful and affectionate friend, C
D. Wordsworth.
The transcript of my journal is nearly finished. There
is so much of it that I am sure it will be dull reading to
those who have never been in those countries; and, even \i
to such, I think much of it at least must be tedious. My
brother is interested when I read it to him. So are the
young ones; but they have not been much tried. My
sister, too, never complains of over much, but that is }^
because the subject is so interesting to her. When we
meet, you shall read as much, or as little, of my journal
as you like. I long to try it on you and Mr. Monk-
house I Mary seems to have succeeded so well in the ja
brief way^ that I can hardly hope my lengthiness will
interest in like degree. I shall not read hers till my
transcript is finished.
\t
^ A reference to Mrs. Wordsworth's shorter chronicle of the
tour. — Ed.
i,
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 175
When you next write pray sign your name at full
length. This I particularly request for the settling of a
dispute among us.
CCCLXVII
William Wordsworth to Richard Sharp
Rydal Mount, April 16, [Postmark, 1822.]
My dear Sir,
I took the liberty of sending you the Memorials^ for
everything of this sort is a liberty (inasmuch as, to use
Gibbon's phrase, it levies a tax of civility upon the
receiving party), as a small acknowledgment of the great
advantage I and my fellow-travellers had derived from
your directions; which — as you might observe by the
order in which the poems are placed, and the limits of
our tour — we almost literally followed. The Ecclesi-
astical Sketches were offered to your notice merely as a
contemporary publication. It gratifies me that you think
well of these poems ; but, I own, I am disappointed that
they should have afforded you less pleasure than a single
piece, which, from the very nature of it, as allegorical,
and even imperfectly so, would horrify a German critic ;
and, whatever may be thought of the Germans as poets,
there is no doubt of their being the best critics in Europe.
But I think I have hit upon the secret. You, like myself,
are — as Smollett says in his translation of the French
phrase — no longer a chicken; and your heart beat in
recollection of your late glorious performance, which has
ranked you as a demigod among tourists —
Mounting from glorious deed to deed,
As thou from clime to clime didst lead.
176 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
You recollect that Gray, in one of his letters, affirms
that description, — he means of natural scenery and the
operations of Nature, — though an admirable ornament,
ought ntver to be the subject of poetry. How many
exclusive dogmas have been laid down, which genius
from age to age has triumphantly refuted 1 and grossly
should I be deceived if, speaking freely to you as an old
friend, these local poems do not contain many proofs that
Gray was as much in the wrong in this interdict, as any
critical brother who may have framed his canons without
a spark of inspiration or poetry to guide him. . . .
The Ecclesiastical Sketches labour under one obvious
disadvantage, that they can only present themselves as a
whole to the reader, who is pretty well acquainted with
the history of this country; and, as separate pieces,
several of them suffer as poetry from the matter of fact,
there being unavoidably in all history — except as it is a
mere suggestion — something that enslaves the fancy.
But there are in those poems several continuous strains,
not in the least degree liable to this objection. I will
only mention two : the sonnets on The Dissolution of the
Monasteries^ and almost the whole of the last part, from
the picture of England after the Revolution, scattered
over with Protestant churches, till the conclusion. Pray
read again from ** Open your Gates, ye everlasting Piles "
to the end, and then turn to your Enterprise, Has the
Continent driven the North out of your estimation ? . . .
I have in the press a little book on the Lakes, contain-
ing some illustrative remarks on Swiss scenery. If I
have fallen into any errors, I know no one better able to
correct them than yourself, and should the book (which I
must mention is chiefly a republication) meet your eye,
pray point out to me the mistakes. The part relating to
TO RICHARD SHARP 1 77
Switzerland is new. One favour leads often to the ask-
ing of another. May I beg of you a sketch for a tour in
North Wales? It is thirty years since I was in that
country, and new ways must have been opened up since
that time. . . .
CCCLXVIII
William Wordsworth to Viscount Lowtker
Rydal Mount, 19th April, 1822.
My dear Lord Lowther,
It is a long time since any communication passed
between us. Nothing has occurred in this neighbourhood
which was likely to interest you. The " hardness of the
times" — a phrase with which you must be pretty well
tired — urges me to mention to you a case in which I am
not a little interested, and Mrs. Wordsworth still more
so, as the party is her brother. To come at once to the
point. In the wide circle of your acquaintance, does any
one want a land agent of mature experience in agricul-
ture, and who can be recommended as a thoroughly con-
scientious and honourable man, of excellent temper and
mild manners. Mr. Thomas Hutchinson — the person
in question — was brought up to farming, under his uncle
Mr. Hutchinson of Sockburn, in Durham, — a person of
much note as being a principal teacher of the improve-
ments in breeding cattle, for which Durham and the ad-
joining part of Yorkshire have become so famous. About
1808, knowing that Wales was backward in agricul-
ture, he took a farm, under Mr. Frankland Lewes in
Radnorshire, and since that period has been a leading
agriculturist in that quarter, to its great improvement;
178 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
but I am sorry to say that he has suifered from the
change of times, to such a degree that his private fortune
of not less than ;^i 4,000 has been so reduced as to
determine him to retire from farming, if he can find a
situation such as I have named.
During the first years of his lease, which was fourteen
years, he sunk large sums in improvements ; and when he
looked for his return, the " times changed " ; and not-
withstanding his judgment, his prudence, and his care, |i:
he must have gone to ruin, if it had not been for his ^
private resources. Mr. Lewes, who I remember said in
Parliament, in speaking against the Corn-Bill, that ht
was prepared to reduce his rents, has constantly refused
to do so in this case ; or to relinquish the lease till now,
when it is nearly expired. He had a fat tenant, and has
kept him by force, till he is becoming lean as a church- a
mouse. Mr. Lewes conditionally remitted the landlord
the amount of income tax, when the property tax was
abolished.
I must add, that I have known Mr. Hutchinson from
his childhood, and therefore can speak confidently to his
moral merits, his daily habits, and the soundness of his
principles as a good subject ; and am certain that he is
not reduced to this situation by any fault of his own.
He is forty-seven years of age, prudently did not marry \^
early in life. His eldest child is about eight years of ,
age ; he has still enough left for his own needs, but he
is naturally anxious for the sake of his children.
You will excuse this long story; but, if you should
have an opportunity of serving this excellent man in the
way in 'w^hich he wishes to be, he would prove an invalu-
able servant. . . .
^
s
' I
■j?r
\\
M'
u
\
^
TO WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR 179
CCCLXIX
William Wordsworth to Walter Savage Landor
Rydal Mount, April 20th, [1822.]
My dear Sir,
I am surprised, and rather sorry, when I hear you say
you read little, because you are removed from the pres-
sure of the trash, which, hourly issuing from the press in
England, tends to make the very name of writing books
disgusting. I am so situated as to see little of it, but
one cannot stop one's ears, and I sometimes envy you that
distance which separates you altogether from this intru-
sion. . . . We have as a near neighbour an old acquaint-
ance of yours, Mr. Quillinan, who knew you at Bath. He
was lately of the Third Dragoon Guards, but has retired on
half-pay. He married a daughter of Sir Egerton Brydges,
and they live, with two nice children, at the foot of our
hill. He begs to be kindly remembered to you.
In respect to Latin poetry, I ought to tell you that I
am no judge, except upon general principles. I never
practised Latin verse, not having been educated at one
of the public schools. My acquaintance with Virgil,
Horace, Lucretius, and Catullus is intimate ; but as I
never read them with a critical view to composition,
great faults in language might be committed which would
escape my notice. Any opinion of mine, therefore, on
points of classical nicety would be of no value, should I
be so inconsiderate as to offer it. A few days ago, being
something better in my sight, I read your Sponsalia, It
is full of spirit and animation, and is probably of that
style of versification which suits the subject ; yet, if you
thought proper, you could produce, I think, a richer
harmony ; and I met some serious inaccuracies in the
l8o WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
punctuation. ... I must express a wish, however, that
you would gratify us by writing in English. There are
noble and stirring things in all that you have written in
your native tongue, and that is enough for me. In your
Simonidea^ which I saw some years ago at Mr. Southey's,
I was pleased to find rather an out-of-the-way image, in
which the present hour is compared to the shade on the
dial. It is a singular coincidence, that in the year 1793,
when I first became an author, I illustrated the sentiment
precisely in the same manner. In the same work you
commend the fine conclusion of RussePs sonnet upon
Philoctetes, and depreciate that form of composition. I
do not wonder at this. I used to think it egregiously
absurd, though the greatest poets since the revival of
literature have written in it. Many years ago my sister
happened to read to me the sonnets of Milton, which I
could at that time repeat; but somehow or other I was
singularly struck with the style of harmony, and the
gravity, and republican austerity of those compositions.
In the course of the same afternoon I produced three
sonnets, and soon after many others; since that time,
and from want of resolution to take up anything of
length, I have filled up many a moment in writing son-
nets, which, if I had never, fallen into the practice, might
easily have been better employed. The Excursion is
proud of your approbation. The Recluse has had a long
sleep, save in my thoughts ; my MSS. are so ill-penned
and blurred that they are useless to all btit myself ; and
at present I cannot face them. But if my stomach can
be preserved in tolerable order, I hope you will hear of
me again in the character chosen for the title of that
poem. I am glad to hear from you. I remain faith-
fully yours, ^„_ Wordsworth.
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH i8l
CCCLXX
othy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, April 21, [1822.]
r Friend,
>u have npt seen Mr. Monkhouse before this
you, no doubt you will seek him out, or he you,
ther day passes over your heads ; therefore I need
you any Rydal news. ... We were truly sorry,
may believe, to part with him so soon, and for
5 as well as our own ; for he is leaving this coun-
at the time when he, being an ardent and very
ful angler, would find the most pleasure here. I
ry much for that reason, that his stay had been
her than in the autumn. Besides, ^' a bird in the
worth two in the bush." We know not what may
to prevent his fulfilling his present scheme of
ig hither. However, having taken a house exactly
vife's mind and. his own is a good security that
but necessity will turn him aside. Mrs. Monk-
rill be our neighbour at the foot of the hill, so that
not find her situation lonely. . . .
oubt you are as busy as possible, yet I have been
•nable enough not to expect to hear from you, but
• think to myself, " Perhaps there may be a letter
[r. Robinson to-day ! "... If you had been a
person, but I am glad you are not, and (as poor
ge used to say) I "like you the better there/i7r^,"
rtainly would have written after having looked
e Memorials (finding yourself one of the dedi-
to express your sense of the high honour. . . .
ly, I should like to know how you like the whole
I
1 82 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
volume, ^ which poems you like best, and what you do
not like ; if any . . . and my brother wishes, too, to know
if the Desultory Stanzas^ have given you pleasure, as
they were inspired by your letter. . . .
It is generally supposed that Longman has an inter-
est in the Literary Gazette, Do you know whether he
actually has, or has not? If he has, he has used my
brother very ill by suffering his Ecclesiastical Sketches
and Memorials to be reviewed by a person who could
give such a senseless criticism. Besides, a sacrifice is
made of W. Wordsworth to obtain for the Literary
Gazette the reputation of impartiality. This is clearly
the object of the criticism, as is plain from the last
paragraph of the review of the Memorials ; wherein the
writer declares that that journal proves its impartiality
by censuring without reserve those whom he is pleased to
call the heads of their several schools, when they write
such stuff as Mr. W. has now given to the public. ... It
would not have been worth while to have said so much
about so despicable a criticism, if it were not on account
of my brother's connection with Longman. We should
not otherwise have given it a thought, after the trifling
vexation that such an opinion of the poems should even
have preceded their publication, robbing us of the little
profit which might have arisen from the first sale — the
only profit which could be expected from the^e little
volumes. . . .
We had a letter from my brother Christopher a few
days ago. He is in excellent health and good spirits,
but so busy that he has hardly time to think of his own
affairs, and cannot yet say whether it will be in his power
1 The Memorials of a Tour on the Continent (1822). — Ed.
2 The last poem in the Memorials, — Ed.
C
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 183
to come into the north this summer. We expect the
Clarksons in a few weeks. . . .
My brother is anxious to know what your plans are
for the autumn, not that there is the smallest chance of
his benefiting by them; but being so fond of travelling
himself, he sympathizes with you in all your hopes and
schemes, in that line. His eyes are better, yet almost
useless for reading. I think he will satisfy himself this
summer with a little tour not far from home. . . . We
had an interesting letter from Charles Lamb not long
ago. Pray mention him and his sister when you write;
but I fear you do not see them often, as they are so
much in the country. How is poor Barry Cornwall.?
I mean Mr. Proctor. When I asked the question I had
forgotten that it was not his true name. We were very
sorry to hear of his illness. The Montagus, I doubt not,
are very kind to him. Miss Hutchinson, a determined
French scholar, is puzzling over her lesson beside me,
and every two minutes she asks me the meaning of a
word. She gets on admirably, without having studied a
word of the grammar, and will very soon be a fluent
translator, stimulated by the hope, at some time or other,
of travelling on the Continent, and being able at least to
make her wants known on French ground. She begs her
kind regards to you. My sister, were she here, would
send her love. Adieu. Believe me.
Affectionately yours,
D. Wordsworth.
1 84 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCLXXI
William Wordsworth to Allan Cunningham
Rydal Mount, June 12th, 1822.
[Postmark, June 21, 1822.]
Dear Sir, .
. . . Mrs. W. begs you to be so kind as to mention to
Mr. C. that the more she is familiar with the bust the
more she likes it, which is the case with all my family.
As to my own opinion, it can be of little value as to the
likeness, but as a work of fine art, I may be excused if I
say that it seems to me fully entitled to that praise which
is universally given to Mr. Chantrey's labours.
The state of my eyes for a long time has only allowed
me to read books of large print. ... I have not yet been
able to make myself acquainted with more than a few of
the first scenes of your drama,^ one of your ballads, and
the songs. I am therefore prevented from accompany-
ing my thanks with those notices which to an intelligent
author give such an acknowledgment its principal value.
The songs appear to me full as good as those of Bums,
with the exception of a very few of his best ; and The Mer-
maid is wild, tender, and full of spirit. The little I have
seen of the play I liked, especially the speeches of the
spirits, and that of Macgee, page 7. I hope, in a little
time, to be acquainted with the rest of the volume. . . .
I remain, dear sir, very sincerely yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
1 Sir Marmaduke Maxwell (1822). — Ed.
\
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 1 85
CCCLXXII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Marshall
13th June, 1822.
. . . The accident ^ might have been terrible. Had the
horse been one inch nearer the wall, his death would have
been inevitable. The sharp stone, which gave a grazing
side cut to the skull, would have penetrated into the head.
... It happened, not at Haweswater, but about two miles
on this side of Bampton. My brother had kind and judi-
cious friends at hand. He was removed to Dr. Scatter-
thwaite's, and very soon after he reached that quiet
comfortable house. Dr. Harrison arrived.
CCCLXXni
William Wordsworth to William Pearson
1st August, 1822.
Dear Sir,
The weather having been so bad, you will scarcely have
set out on your tour, therefore I hope these few notes will
be in time to be of service to you.
We were pleased with the vale of Nith. The ruins of
Lincluden Abbey or Priory are near Dumfries, on the road
up the vale; but little of them remains. Drumlanrig,
the mansion of the late Duke of Queensberry, which
is a long way up the vale, we did not see — turning off
to Leadhills, a village inhabited by miners ; thence noth-
ing interesting to Lanark; at Lanark, falls of the Clyde
and Mr. Owen's establishment.^ Beautiful country to
1 To her brother. — Ed.
• A spinning factory founded by Robert Owen, the communist,
in behalf of his workers. — Ed.
1 86 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Hamilton, where in the duke's palace is a fine collection of
pictures. Thence to Bothwell Castle, Glasgow, Dumbar-
ton, Loch Lomond, Luss, fine view of the islands of
Loch Lomond from the top of Inchtavannach, Tarbet,
Arrochar, Glen Croe, Inverary, Kilchurn Castle on Loch
Awe, very striking; Dalmally. Thence we went to Loch
Etive, to Portnacrosk on Loch Linnhe, interesting all
the way up to Ballachulish ; from hence we went up
Glen Coe and back to B . Glen Coe very sublime.
By Fort William, Fort Augustus to the Fall of Foyers,
very fine; and so on to Inverness, from whence, fifteen
miles north to some beautiful saw mills upon the river
Bewley, the scenery of which is very romantic.
Homeward, by the main coach-road to Blair Athole ; a
little before reaching it you cross the stream of Bruar
below the water-falls, — interesting on Burns's account, —
Killicrankie and Fascally on the way to Dunkeld, very
striking; Dunkeld also interesting. The narrow glen,^
a pleasing solitude. I have omitted Killin at the head of
Loch Tay and the Trossachs, as they lie in the country
between the two main roads ; but the Trossachs are very
fine, and Killin a striking situation. By Stirling to Edin-
burgh; I have nothing more to say, unless I mention
Perth, which lies low, in a beautiful valley.
The letter you sent to the Gazette was just the thing,
and I hope would produce some effect. Wishing you fine
weather and a pleasant journey,
I remain, dear sir.
With very sincere regard, yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
1 " The Sma Glen," between Dunkeld and Crieff. In the
Memorials of a Tour in Scotland (1803), Wordsworth called it, and
his poem, Glen Altnain^ or '' the narrow glen." — Ed.
TO SAMUEL ROGERS 1 87
CCCLXXIV
William Wordsworth to Samuel Rogers
LowTHER Castle, [Sept 16, 1822.]
My dear Rogers,
It gave me great pleasure to hear from our common
friend, Sharp, that you had returned from the Continent
in such excellent health, which I hope you will continue
to enjoy in spite of our fogs, rains, east-winds, coal fires,
and other clogs upon light spirits and free breathing. I
have long wished to write to you on a little affair of my
own, or rather of my sister's, and the facility of procur-
ing a frank in this house has left my procrastinating habit '
without excuse. Some time ago you expressed (as per-
haps you will remember) a wish that my sister would
publish her recollections of her Scotch tour, and you
interested yourself so far in the scheme as kindly to offer
to assist in disposing of it to a publisher for her advan-
tage. We know that your skill and experience in these
matters are great, and she is now disposed to profit by
them, provided you continue to think as favourably of the
measure as heretofore. The fact is, she was so much
gratified by her tour in Switzerland that she has a strong
wish to add to her knowledge of that country, and to
extend her ramble to some part of Italy. As her own
little fortune is not sufficient to justify a step of this kind,
she has no hope of revisiting those countries, unless an
adequate sum could be procured through the means of
this MS. You are now fairly in possession of her motives ;
if you still think that the publication would do her no dis-
credit, and are of opinion that a respectable sum of money
might be had for it (which she has no chance of effecting
except through your exertion) she would be much obliged,
1 88 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
as I also should be, if you would undertake to manage
the bargain, and the MS. shall be sent you as soon as it
is revised. She has further to beg thlt you would be so
kind as to look it over, and strike out what you think
might be better omitted.
I detected you in a small collection of poems entitled
Italy which we all read with much pleasure. Venice^
and The Brides of Venice (they were the titles, I think),
please as much as any ; some parts of the Venice are par-
ticularly fine. I had no fault to find, except \qo strong a
leaning to the pithy and concise, and to some peculiar-
ities of versification which occur perhaps too often. . . .
Believe me, my dear Rogers,
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCLXXV
William Wordsworth to Richard Sharp
October 3, 1822.
My dear Sir,
I hope you will not think that I trespass too much
upon your friendly disposition when I beg that, if it should
be necessary, you would take some little trouble on my
account in a money transaction. We have lodged nearly
;^2ooo of our little fortune in the French funds, but having
no reliance on the good faith of that government, I am
anxious, in case its stability should receive a shock, to
sell out with expedition ; which, residing at such a dis-
tance from town as I do, would be impossible, unless some
friend would interest himself on my account. . . .
TO RICHARD SHARP 1 89
I have had a kind letter from Rogers in answer to
mine about my sister's publication. He proffers every
assistance, but is strongly against my proposal to sell the
copyright at once. If you happen to see him shortly, say
that my sister is at present in Scotland ; and that, as soon
as she returns, we will write to him.
During these last three weeks we have had a glorious
season, such a one as scarcely occurs in seven years.
Would that you and Rogers had been here to enjoy it.
Even he could not have regretted Italy, and I am sure
you would not.
We hope that your sister was benefited by her tour.
With best regards from Mrs. Wordsworth,
I remain, my dear sir,
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCLXXVI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Rydal Mount, Wednesday, October 24th, [1822.]
My dear Friend,
... At the end of my letter I must copy a parody
(which I hope will make you laugh), that William and
Sarah threw off last Sunday afternoon. They had been
talking of Mr. Clarkson's kindness to every human being,
especially of his perseverance in the African cause, and
of his last act of kindness to the distressed negro widow
and her family. Tender thoughts of merriment came with
the image of the sable princess by your fireside. The first
stanza of Ben Jonson's poem slipped from William's lips
igo DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
in a parody, and together they finished it with much loving
fun. Oh ! how they laughed ! I heard them in my room
upstairs, and wondered what they were about ; and, when
it was finished, I claimed the privilege of sending it to
you. . . . Ben Jonson's poem begins " Queen and hunt-
ress chaste and fair." You must know it.
Queen and negress chaste and fair !
Christophe now is laid asleep
Seated in a British chair.
State in humbler manner keep
Shine for Clarkson's pure delight
Negro princess, ebon bright !
Let not " Willy's " ^ holy shade
Interpose at envy's call,
Hayti's shining queen was made
To illumine Playford hall,
Bless it then ^ith constant light,
Negress excellently bright I
Lay thy diadem apart,
Pomp has been a sad deceiver.
Through thy champion's faithful heart
Joy be poured, and thou the giver.
Thou that mak's't a day of night
Sable princess, ebon bright.
1 Mrs. Wilberforce calls her husband by that pretty diminutive
« Willy." You must have heard her. D. W.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 191
CCCLXXVII
William Wordsworth to Richard Sharp
Rydal Mount, November 12, [1822.]
My dear Sir,
. . . Dorothy is at Stockton upon Tees. She will be
consulted by letter upon your obliging offer, of which I
know she will be duly sensible.
My sister returned from Scotland a few days since. . . .
She went from Edinburgh to Stirling by water, thence to
Glasgow, chiefly by the track-boat, thence to Dumbarton
and to Rob Roy's Caves, and Tarbet by the steamboat,
to Inveraray by land, and returned to Glasgow by steam ;
coming home by Lanark, etc. She has made notes of her
tour, which are very amusing, particularly as a contrast to
the loneliness of her former mode of travelling.
I was not aware how mtich I was asking when I
requested you to undertake my little concern in the
French funds, or I should not have ventured to make
the proposal. I knew indeed that everybody must be
averse to incur such a responsibility, but was encouraged
to hope that your confidence — that, whatever the result
proved, I should not complain, but should be content —
would do away much of your dislike in my particular
case. On carefully referring to your letter I feel myself
not justified in expressing the wish that you should act
for me. At present I have only to say that I should be
willing to stand a few of the depressions of the French
funds, even if considerable, provided I could feel assured
that the French government would honestly abide by its
engagements. I am not anxious for profit, by selling in
and out ; or desirous to have the command of my money.
192 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
All I look for, for some years to come, is the regular pay-
ment of good interest which I now have. Were I to take
the money out, I should not know what to do with it.
After stating this, as the principal point I look to, and
the only one to me of great importance, I may add that I
should be perfectly contented to have my cock-boat tied
to your seventy-four. If you thought it advisable to sell
out, so should I. Therefore should you see reason to
change, I have only to beg that you will be so kind as to
let me know. . . . ^^^ Wordsworth.
CCCLXXVin
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
[Dec. 21, 1822.]
My dear Friend,
Disappointment often follows hope long deferred. Not
so in our case, when your promised letter arrived ; which
did, and does^ interest us much more than you could pos-
sibly imagine, when you kindly took so much trouble for
us. It has had many readings ; and is not yet laid up
among our records ; but will for some time be kept out
for reference and re-perusal. You do not say you intend
a second part ; but that hint at the last, that you could
fill another letter with what you saw, and observed, of the
people (no doubt including many adventures, character-
istic both of you and of them), set our greedy desires
at work. We are not unreasonable enough to ask the
favour ; but if you could find leisure, and could make of
it a pleasant task, it would render this — your delight-
ful sketch of cities, towns, ruins, and scenery — quite
complete. I have had many a transient wish that we
could have been with you — and exclaimed to my brother,
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 193
" Nay, had / been there " i.e. at Grenoble, " no weather
should have deterred him — we would have seen the
Grande Chartreuse"; but he interposed to check my
boasting, with the irrevocable decree that no female is to
tread on that sacred ground. Seriously, however, my
brother is very sorry that you should have missed the
Chartreuse. I do not think that any one spot which he
visited, during his youthful travels with Robert Jones,
made so great an in^pression on his mind; and, in my
young days, he used to talk so much of it to me, that it
was a great disappointment when I found that the Char-
treuse was not to come into our tour. We were all mor-
tified that you turned away from the Pyrenees, yet the
reason was quite sufficient, — being alone ; not that per-
haps you would have been safer with a companion, but
you would have thought less of danger, and most likely
none would have reached you; though in the unsettled
state of the country, with the recent provocation you
mention, you probably made a wiser choice than you
might have done, under the temptation of pleasant com-
pany. As to Italy, I do not so much lament that you
did not go thither, for perhaps the scheme we have so
often talked of may at some time be accomplished ; and
then we shall once again be fellow-travellers. . . .
As you are so much interested in the Ecclesiastical Son-
nets^ William will send you hereafter a poem which he has
just written upon the foundation of a church which Lady
Fleming is about to erect at Rydal.^ It is about eighty
lines. I like it much.
My brother, who is now beside me, desires sincere
remembrances. He tells me that he sympathises with
1 To the Lady Flemingy on seeing the Foundation preparing for
the Erection of Rydal Chapel ^ Westmoreland. — Ed.
194 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
you entirely in what you say respecting the interference
of France with Spain.
By self-devoted Moscow, by the blaze
Of that dread sacrifice, by Russian blood
Lavished in fight with desperate hardihood,
The impassive elements no claim shall raise
To rob our human nature of his praise.
Enough was done and sufEered, to insure
Final deliverance, absolute and pure;
Enough for faith, tracking the beaten ways
Of Providence. But now did the Most High
Exalt his still small voice, his wrath unshroud,
And lay his justice bare to mortal eye;
He who, of yore, by miracle spake loud
As openly that purpose here avow'd.
Which only madness ventures to defy.^
1 This sonnet may have been written soon after the retreat of
Napoleon from Moscow in 1812, but more probably not till 1822 ; and
it was not published till 1827. As the version given in this letter of
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson, in 1822, is very
different from that which was subsequently printed by her brother, and
as this sonnet was accidentally omitted from the Eversley edition of
the poems, the text of 1832 may be given in a footnote.
By Moscow self-devoted to a blaze
Of dreadful sacrifice ; by Russian blood
Lavished in fight with desperate hardihood ;
The unfeeling elements no claim shall raise
To rob our human-nature of just praise
For what she did and suffered. Pledges sure
Of a deliverance absolute and pure
She gave, if faith might tread the beaten ways
Of Providence. But now did the Most High
Exalt his still small voice ; to quell that host
Gathered his power, a manifest ally ;
He, whose heaped waves confounded the proud boast
Of Pharaoh, said to Famine, Snow, and Frost,
" Finish the strife by deadliest victory ! " -g^
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 195
When you see Mr. Monkhouse you will read the sonnet
to him, as it is always a treat for him to have a few verses
from Rydal Mount. The guerilla sonnets must have been
selected by the newspaper editor on account of the cir-
cumstances of the times. We had not seen, or heard of
them. The French have stayed their hands, it is to be
hoped, for the present ; but whether they meddle or not,
I think it is very likely that something more may come
out of my brother in connexion with Spain ; and certainly
ivilly if they do, after all, send their armies across the Pyr-
enees. . . . We shall be delighted to see Elia's Essays
collected in a book by themselves. I hope they will soon
appear. Thank you for your good account of Miss Lamb.
Pray give my kind love to her, and her brother. They
will be glad to hear that Miss Hutchinson talks of going to
London in the spring. She often speaks of the pleasure
she shall have in seeing them ; and, I assure you, she does
*not forget you, in numbering her London friends.
We have been much concerned at the recent accounts of
Mrs. Monkhouse's state of health. I hope you see them as
often as ever you can. There is no one so likely to cheer
our good friend as yourself, when his spirits are sinking
under anxiety during his wife's confinement to the sofa.
This is a sad dull letter in return for yours, and I am
ashamed of blots, scrawling with a bad pen, etc., etc.,
ashamed indeed, after your legible penmanship, and to
write so to vou I who repaired my loss in the vale of Leuk
with such a nice silver pen, which I still daily use 1 It
is almost like ingratitude. We all join in wishing you
as happy a coming year as the last, with your usual good
' health and spirits. God bless you ! Believe me
Ever your faithful and affectionate friend,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
196 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCLXXIX
William Wordsworth to Richard Sharp
[1822.]
My dear Sir,
Many thanks for your kindness in meeting my wishes
so promptly. Your view of the case appears quite just,
but it is not probable that, if the present French minis-
ters can keep their ground, the death of the king would
prove less injurious to the credit of the government ; as
I understand that their system is approved of by the
heir to the throne, and his friends. There is yet another
reason for confidence, — the desire which the Continental
Powers have to raise the credit of their funds, from the
conviction that public credit enabled England principally
to make such mighty exertions during the late war. Nev-
ertheless, I know how difficult it is for unprincipled men
to resist a temptation of present advantage for a remote
benefit; and I regard the French as destitute of public
principle.
I should be most happy to submit the whole of my
little venture to your discretion; and with this view, I
have requested Mr. Cookson to deposit the certificate in
your hands, to sell out or leave in as you judge best, and
I should be thankful for instructions how to vest you
with the necessary powers, as something more I appre-
hend must be wanting.
You talked of going to the Continent in the spring.
This morning the wind is blowing a perfect hurricane,;
tearing the leaves of the trees in myriads, so that the
splendour of the autumn is destroyed. . . .
TO RICHARD SHARP 197
How singular is the fate of Fonthill ! ^ The papers
give a sentimental and silly account of the place, but one
cannot help longing to see it, with all its wonders !
With best regards from Mrs. Wordsworth, I remain.
Faithfully, your obedient friend,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCLXXX
Mrs, Wordsworth to John Kenyon
[Probably 1822.]
My dear Sir,
Your friendly and very acceptable present arrived at
Rydal Mount yesterday. I have not yet opened the cask,
but doubt not that the sugar is in excellent condition ;
and it could not have come more opportunely than now,
when we are threatened with a serious rise in the price
of an article, which, as Christmas pies will ere long be
called for, must be in great requisition. I lose no time in
thanking you for this your kind remembrance; though,
barren as a letter just now from me will be, I should have
been loth to trouble you with one, had I not the tempta-
tion of procuring a frank, and probably an additional note
from William, who is at present either at the house of the
Member for Yorkshire, Mr. Marshall, or at Lowther.
W. is paying his last summer visits for this season;
our latest lingerers after pleasure have departed. Miss
Wordsworth we expect at home (she having been an
absentee for ten months) in the course of the next fort-
night ; so that after the rejoicings for her return are
1 FonthiU Abbey, in WUtshire. — Ed.
198 MRS. WORDSWORTH
over, we look forward to a quiet and industrious winter
without any harassing fears that we are to be turned
out of our favoured residence, a fear that haunted us —
if I remember right — the last time I had the pleasure of
writing to you.^
I can now look forward to the hope that, as soon as
you like, after the cuckoo arrives, you will not let another
season pass without introducing Mrs. Kenyon to us. If
not, I shall begin to suspect that you think the influence
of Idle Mount may interfere with, and have a bad effect
upon, the more industrious habits of your good wife ; and
that you had best keep her out of the way of that castle
of indolence.
1 See the lines entitled Composed when a Probability existed of
our being obliged to quit Rydal Mount as a Residence. Poetical Worh^
Eversley edition, Vol. VIII, p. 289. — Ed.
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 199
1823
CCCLXXXI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Samuel Rogers
Rydal Mount, Jan. 3d, 1823.
My dear Sir,
As you have no doubt heard, by a message sent from
my brother through Mr. Sharp, I happened to be in
Scotland^ when your letter arrived, where (having intended
to be absent from home only a fortnight) I was detained
seven weeks by the illness of my fellow traveller.* . . .
I cannot but be flattered by your thinking so well of
my journal ' as to recommend (indirectly at least) that I
should not part with all power over it, till its fortune has
been tried. You will not be surprised, however, that I am
not so hopeful; and that I am apprehensive that, after
having encountered the unpleasantness of coming before
the public, I might not be assisted in attaining my object.
I have, then, to ask whether a middle course be not pos-
sible, that is, whether your favourable opinion, confirmed
perhaps by some other good judges, might not induce a
bookseller to give a certain sum for the right to publish a
given number of copies. In fact, I find it next to impos-
sible to make up my mind to sacrifice my privacy for a
1 In September and October, 1822. — Ed.
* Joanna Hutchinson. — Ed.
* Journal of a Tour on the Continent (1820). — Ed.
2CX) DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
certainty less than two hundred pounds — ^a sum which
would effectually aid me in accomplishing the ramble I so
much, and I hope not unwisely, wish for.^ . . .
I have nothing further to say, for it is superfluous to
trouble you with my scruples, and the fears which I have
that a work of such slight pretensions will be wholly over-
looked in this writing and publishing — especially tour-
writing and /(^«r-publishing — age ; and when factions and
parties, literary and political, are so busy in endeavouring
to stifle all attempts to interest, however pure from any
taint of the world, and however humble in their claims.
My brother begs me to say that it gratified him to hear
you were pleased with his late publications. In the
Memorials he himself likes best the Stanzas upon Bin-
sUdeln^ the Three Cottage Girls ^ and, above all, the Eclipse
upon the Lake of Lugano; and, in the Sketches the suc-
cession of those on the Reformation, and those towards
the conclusion of the third part. Mr. Sharp liked best
the poem To Enterprise^ which surprised my brother a
good deal.' ...
If you knew how much it has cost me to settle the affair
of this proposed publication in my mind, as far as I have
now done, I am sure you would deem me sufficiently
excused for having so long delayed answering your most
obliging letter. I have still to add, that if there be a pros-
pect that any bookseller will undertake the publication,
1 This journal was never published in full. Extracts from it will
be found in the Eversley edition oi Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth^
Vol. II, pp. 163-259. — Ed.
2 This refers to the poem entitled Composed in one of ihe Catholic
Cantons. — Ed.
* This poem was originally included in the Memorials of a Tour
on the Continent (1822) ; and afterwards placed amongst the Poems
of the Imagination, — Ed.
TO SAMUEL ROGERS 20I
I will immediately prepare a corrected copy to be sent
to you, and I shall trust to your kindness for taking the
trouble to look over it, and to mark whatever passages
you may think too trivial for publication, or in any other
respect much amiss. . . . Believe me, dear sir, yours
gratefully and with sincere esteem,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
CCCLXXXII
Mary Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont
[February 5th, 1823.
My dear Lady Beaumont,
I have delayed sending you the poem,^ and also to
reply to your last kind letter, in the hope of being able to
speak decisively about the intended visit to Coleorton. . . .
Mrs. Coleridge and Sara have been some time at High-
gate. She wrote soon after their arrival there, and gave
a cheerful account of Coleridge. She spoke of going into
Devonshire about the middle of March. We seldom see
Harljey, but as we hear little of him, and that little in his
favour, we hope he is spending his time to some good
purpose ; but as to the discipline of Mr. Dawes' school,
that cannot much restrain him, as I believe there are not
more than four boys. . . .
I hope the verses will afford you pleasure. Her lady-
ship wrote a very proper reply when they were sent to
her ; but how far they may have power to act as a " peace-
offering" we much doubt, but heartily wish they may.*
1 To the Lady Flemings January, 1822. — Ed.
* There was some slight friction between the ladies at Rydal Hall
and those at the Mount. — £d.
202 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
The severe weather has put a stop to all progress with
the work. If you or Sir George could send us any hints,
or sketch for a chapel that would look well in this situa-
tion, it is possible that we could have it made useful —
through her ^ agents. We are very anxious that nothing
should be done to disfigure the village. They ^ might,
good taste directing them, add much to its beauty. The
site chosen is the orchard opposite the door leading to
the lower waterfall, , , .
CCCLXXXIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Samuel Rogers
17th February, 1823.
My dear Sir,
I cannot deny myself the pleasure of thanking you for
your last very kind letter, as Miss Hutchinson is going
directly to London ; and, through her, you will receive
this. At present I shall do no more than assure you that
I am fully sensible of the value of your friendly atten-
tion to the matter on which I have troubled you. I hope
that my brother and sister will soon have the pleasure of
meeting you in London, and he will explain to you all my
scruples and apprehensions. . . .
My brother is glad that you came upon the stone to
the memory of Aloys Reding * in such an interesting way.
He and Mrs. W., without any previous notice, met with
it at the moment of sunset, as described at the close of
those stanzas. I was rambling in another part of the
1 Lady Le Fleming's. — Ed.
2 The Le Flemings. — Ed.
• See Memorials of a Tour on the Continent^ No. xiii. — Ed.
TO SAMUEL ROGERS 203
wood and unluckily missed it. ... I was delighted with
your and your sister's reception at that pleasant house in
the vale of Schwytz which I well remember. Mr. Monk-
house and I, going on foot to Brennen from Schwytz, were
struck with the appearance of the house, and inquired to
whom it belonged ; were told, to a family of the name of
Reding, but could not make out whether it had been the
residence and birthplace of Aloys Reding or not. I am
left at home with my niece and her brother William, now
quite well. . . . Believe me to be, with great respect,
Yours very sincerely,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
CCCLXXXIV
Mary Wordsworth to Edward Quillinan
Trinity Lodge, May 5.
[Postmark, 1823.]
My dear Friend,
Thetiy on Saturday the loth, God willing, we purpose to
commence an attack upon your hospitality. W. will take
the first Cambridge coach, and Dora and I shall follow
with Dr. Wordsworth,^ and hope to reach Bryan ston Street
in tlie course of the day. Indeed, the Dr. is engaged to
dine in town. Therefore we shall not be long after W. ;
but do not disarrange your plans in expectation of us, as
you know we are no great dintierites^ and would rather
fall in at your tea hour than at any other. In hope of
seeing you so soon, and having a host of letters to write,
1 The Master of Trmity. — Ed.
204 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I will say no more : only that we trust we are not to be
disappointed in our expectation of seeing the dear Rotha.
Love to sweet Mima, and believe me,
Ever affectionately yours,
M. Wordsworth.
CCCLXXXV
William Wordsworth to Allan Cunningham
Lee Priory, near Wingham, Kent,
May 6th, 1823.
Dear Sir,
On my return to Gloucester Place I found your oblig-
ing present of your book, and the medallion of Sir Walter
Scott, with both of which I was much pleased ; both for
their several sakes, and as marks of your attention. They
are forwarded to Westmoreland ; and in a day or two I
quit this place for a trip, I hope of not more than three
weeks, chiefly in Holland. If I return through London
it will not be to stop twenty-four hours there. . . .
Very faithfully, your obliged servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCLXXXVI
William Wordsworth to John Kenyon
Lee Priory, May i6th, [1823.]
My dear Friend,
Your very welcome letter followed me to this place.
The account it gave of your happiness and comfort was
such as we wished to hear. May the- like blessings be
TO JOHN KENYON 205
long, very long, continued to you, changing their char-
acter only according to the mildest influences of time !
You gave me liberty to reply to your letter as might suit
what you knew of my procrastinating disposition. I
caught at this; but be assured you would have heard
from me immediately if I could have held out any hopes,
either to myself or you, that we should be able to accept
of your kind invitation to visit you and Mrs. K. (with
whom we should be most happy to become acquainted)
at Bath. We came hither five weeks ago, meaning after
a fortnight's stay to cross the Channel for a little tour in
Flanders and Holland ; but we had calculated, as the
saying is, without our host. The spring was tardy and
froward. When a day or two of fine weather came, they
were followed by blustering, and even tempestuous, winds.
These abated, and out came my own vernal enemy, inflam-
mation in my eyes ; and here I am, still obliged to employ
Mrs. W. as my amanuensis.
This day, however, being considerably better, we shall
go to Dover ; with a view to embark for Ostend to-morrow,
unless detained by similar obstacles. From Ostend we
mean to go to Ghent, to Antwerp, Breda, Utrecht, Amster-
dam, to Rotterdam by Harlem, the Hague and Leyden,
thence to Antwerp by another route, and perhaps shall
return by Mechlin, Brussels, Lille and Ypres to Calais,
or direct to Ostend as we came. We hope to be landed
in England within a month. We shall hurry through Lon-
don homewards, where we are naturally anxious already
to be, having left Rydal Mount so far back as February.
Now for a word about yourself, my dear friend. You
had long been followed, somewhat blindly, by our good
wishes ; we had heard nothing of you, except through
Mr. Quillinan and from Mr. Monkhouse. If there was
2o6 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
any fault in your not writing sooner, you made amends
by entering so kindly into the particulars of what you
had done and proposed to do ; where you are living, and
how you were as to estate, body and mind. It is among
my hopes that, either in Westmoreland or west of Eng-
land, I may — at no very distant time — be a witness of
your happiness; and notwithstanding all my faults and
waywardnesses, have an opportunity of recommending
myself to the good graces of your helpmate.
I have time for little more ; as, in an hour and a half,
we must leave our good friends here, this elegant con-
ventual mansion (with its pictures and its books), and
bid farewell to its groves and nightingales, which this
morning have been singing divinely. By the bye it has
been so cold that they are silent during the season of
darkness ! These delights we must surrender, and take
our way on foot three miles along the pleasant banks of
Stour, to fall in with the Dover coach. At this moment
the southwest wind is blustering abominably, whirling the
leaves and blossoms about in a way that reminds me of
the tricks it is playing with the surf on the naked coast
of Ostend ! But courage ! we depart with many good
wishes, to which yours shall be added, as no act of pre-
sumption on our part. God bless your sojourns, and grant
us a happy meeting ; if not in this world, in a better I to
which my wife says Amen,
Ever affectionately yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
John is at New College, Oxford. Should you pass
through enquire after him. He would be overjoyed to
see you.
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 207
CCCLXXXVII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Wednesday nth [or 12th] November, [1823.]
. . . William joined me from the Castle [Lowther],
where he had been staying, and we proceeded together
up H awes-water, in a gig lent us by Lord Lonsdale. The
first time I saw Hawes-water was from your house ; and
many thoughts did our journey revive of you and yours,
and the happy day we spent in going to Mardale. We
took the gig as far as we could, and then proceeded over
the fell on foot, to the head of Long Sleddale, a very
interesting valley, crossed at the first houses to Kentmere
(Bernard Gilpin's^ birthplace), thence over another fell
to Troutbeck, crossed that vale also, and home by Low-
wood. I never spent a more rememberable day, seldom
a pleasanter; though the latter part of our journey was
performed in the dark ; which, however, was of little con-
sequence, as it was over familiar ground. It would be a
charming journey for any one, either on horseback, or on
foot, on a long summer^s day. . . .
CCCLXXXVIII
William Wordsworth to Allan Cunningham
Rydal Mount, November 23d, [1823.]
My dear Sir,
On returning from Leicestershire a few days ago, I had
the pleasure of finding in its destined place the bust of Sir
Walter Scott. It is, as you say, a very fine one; and I
1 Bernard Gilpin (151 7-1 583), an eminent Westmoreland divine,
named " The Apostle of the North."— Ed.
208 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
doubt not you have been equally select in the one which
you have sent of me to Sir Walter. I will take care
that my debt to you on this score shall be speedily dis-
charged. And here I am reminded of an obligation of
the same kind, which I am afraid has not been met
as it ought to be. Pray, has Mr. Edward Coleridge paid
for the cast of my bust which, at his request, was for-
warded to him at Eton? Bear in mind that I am ulti-
mately responsible for it. I am already in possession of
a cast of Mr. Southey, a striking likeness as to feature ;
but so ill executed, in point of character and expression,
that I must defer placing a likeness of that honored
friend in company with this fine one of Sir Walter, till I
can procure one from the hand of Mr. Chantrey ; who, I
hope, will one day undertake a work which would redound
to the credit of both parties. I am not without hope
also that Mr. Chantrey may be induced to transmit to
posterity the magnificent forehead of one of the first
intellects that Great Britain has produced, I mean that
of Mr. Coleridge, and proud should I be to place this
triumvirate of my friends in the most distinguished
station of my little mansion.^
Many thanks for .your letter. The interest which your-
self and family take in my writings, and person, is grate-
ful to my feelings; testimonies of this kind are among
the very pleasantest results of a literary life. The ground
upon which I am disposed to meet your anticipation of
the spread of my poetry is, that I have endeavoured to
dwell with truth upon those points of human nature in
which all men resemble each other, rather than on those
accidents of manners and character produced by times
1 Allan Cunningham was clerk of works in the studio of Frauds
Chantrey from 1814 till 1842. — Ed.
TO ALLAN CUNNINGHAM 209
[ circumstances; which are the favourite seasoning
d substance too often) of imaginative writings. If,
refore, I have been successful in the execution of my
mpt, it seems not improbable that as education is
mdedy writings that are independent of an over (not
say vicious) refinement will find a proportionate in-
ise of readers, provided there be found in them a
nine inspiration.
^he selection you again advert to will no doubt be
cuted at some future time. Something of the kind is
ady in progress at Paris, in respect to my poems in
imon with others. The value of such selections will
•end entirely upon the judgment of the editor. . . .
anwhile I am going to press (at last) with a re-pub-
tion of the whole of my poetry,^ including The Excur-
, which will give me an opportunity of performing my
mise to you, by sending you the whole, as soon as it
eady for delivery.
The collection of songs which you announce ^ I had not
rd of. Your own poetry shows how fit you are for the
:e of editing native strains ; and may not one hope
t the taste of the public in these matters is much
>roved since the time when Macpherson^s frauds * met
1 such dangerous success, and Percy's ballads* pro-
ed those hosts of legendary tales that bear no more
ambiance to their supposed models than Pope's Homer
s to the work of the blind bard. Do not say I ought
lave been a Scotchman. Tear me not from the country
The edition of 1832.— Ed.
The Songs of Scotland {1825). — Ed.
Fragments of Ancient Poetry^ translated from the Gaelic or Erse
^uage (1760). — Ed.
The Reliques of Ancient Poetry (1765). — Ed.
I
2IO WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
of Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton ; yet I own
that since the days of childhood, when I became familiar
with the phrase, " They are killing geese in Scotland,
and sending the feathers to England " (which every one
had ready when the snow began to fall), and when I used
to hear, in the time of a high wind, that
Arthur's bower has broken his band,
And he comes roaring up the land;
King o' Scot's wi' a' his power
Cannot turn Arthur's bower,
I have been indebted to the North for more than I
shall ever be able to acknowledge. Thomson,* Mickle,*
Armstrong,'^ Leyden,* yourself, Irving ^ (a poet in spirit),
and I may add Sir Walter Scott were all Borderers. If
they did not drink the water, they breathed at least the
air of the two countries. The list of English Border
poets is not so distinguished, but Langham was a na-
tive of Westmoreland, and Brown the author of the
Estimate of Manners and Principles, etc., — a poet as his
letter on the vale of Keswick, with the accompanying
verses, shows — was bom in Cumberland.® So also was
1 James Thomson (i 700-1748), bom at Ednam, Roxburghshire,
author of Tke Castle of Indolence^ etc. — Ed.
^ William Julius Mickle (i 755-1 788), bom at Langham, translator
of The Lusicad of Camoens. — Ed.
8 John Armstrong (1707-1799), bom in Roxburghshire, poet and
physician, author of The Art of Preserving Health. — Ed.
*John Leyden (1775-1811), bom at Denholm, Roxburghshire,
poet, physician, and orientalist. — Ed.
^ Edward Irving (i 792-1 834), preacher, founder of the "Catholic
Apostolic Church." — Ed.
^ John Brown (171 5-1766), a versatile writer, was born in Nop
thumberland (not Cumberland). He wrote a poem on Honour ^ an
Essay upon Satire^ a poem on Liberty y but his best known work was
TO ALLAN CUNNINGHAM 21 1
Skelton,^ a demon in point of genius ; and TickelP in later
times, whose style is superior in chastity to Pope*s, his
contemporary. Addison and Hogarth were both within
a step of Cumberland and Westmoreland, their several
fathers having been natives of those counties, which are
still crowded with their names and relatives. It is enough
for me to be ranked in this catalogue, and to know that I
have touched the hearts of many by subjects suggested
to me on Scottish ground; these pieces you will find
classed together in the new edition. Present my thanks
to Mrs. C. for her kind invitation. I need not add that if
you, or any of yours, come this way we shall be most
happy to see you.
Pray give my congratulations to Mr. Chantrey on the
improvement in Mrs. C.'s health; they have both our
best wishes ; and believe me, my dear sir.
Very faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCLXXXIX
William Wordsworth to Henry Taylor
Rydal Mount, December 26th, [1823.]
Dear Sir,
... I have not, nor ever had, a single poem of Lord
Byron's by me, except the Lara^ given me by Mr. Rogers ;
and therefore could not quote anything illustrative of his
his Estimate of the Manners and Principles of the Times, He helped
Charles Avison in his Essay on Musical Expression (i7S3)« — Ed.
* John Skelton (1460?-! 529), poet, clergyman, satirist. — Ed.
^ Thomas Tickell (1686-1740), poet, etc., bom at Bridekirk, Cum-
berland. — Ed.
212 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
poetical obligations.^ So far as I am acquainte<
his works, they are most apparent in the third ca
Childe Harold; not so much in particular expre;
though there is no want of these, as in the tone (as
rather than natural) of enthusiastic admiration of ^
and a sensibility to her influences. Of my writinj
need not read more than the blank verse poem <
river Wye to be convinced of this. Mrs. W. tells n
in reading one of Lord B.'s poems, of which the
was offensive, she was much disgusted with the ]
risms from Mr. Coleridge — at least she thinks it
that poem — but as she read the Siege of Corinth
same volume, it might possibly be in that. If
not mistaken there was some acknowledgment to
which takes very much from the reprehensiveness o
ary trespasses of this kind. Nothing lowered my o
of Byron's poetical integrity so much as to see "pi
place" carefully noted as a quotation from Macbt
a work where contemporaries — from whom he had
wholesale — were not adverted to. It is mainly c
account that he deserves the severe chastisement
you, or some one else, will undoubtedly one day giv
and may have done already, as I see by advertis
the subject has been treated in the London Magazi
I remember one impudent instance of his theft
Raymond's translation of Coxe's Travels in Switze,
with Notes by the Translator^ is a note with these
(speaking of the fall of Schaffhausen) : " Lewy (si(
cendant avec moi sur cet dchafaud, tomba \ gen(
criant: voila un enfer d^eau!** This expression is
1 Indebtedness to others. — Ed.
2 William Coxe (17 1828) published Travels in Switi
three volumes, in 1789. — Ed.
TO HENRY TAYLOR 213
by Byron and beaten out unmercifully into two stanzas,
which a critic in the University Review is foolish enough
to praise. They are found in the fourth canto of Childe
Harold} Whether the obligation is acknowledged or not
I do not know, having seen nothing of it but in quotation.
Thank you for your parallels. I wished for them on
Mr. Rogers' account, who is making a collection of similar
things relating to Gray. There are few of yours I think
which one could swear to as conscious obligations. The
subject has three branches — accidental coincidences
without any communication of the subsequent author,
unconscious imitations ; and deliberate conscious obliga-
tions. The cases are numerous in which it is impossible
to distinguish these by anything inherent in the resem-
bling passage ; but external aid may be called in with
advantage where we happen to know the circumstances
of an author's life and the direction of his studies. Do
not suflEer my present remissness to prevent you favour-
ing me with a letter if there is the least chance of my
being of service to you. I shall reply immediately if I
have anything to say worthy your attention. With best
wishes from myself and family, I remain, dear sir.
Very sincerely yours,
^ -' Wm. Wordsworth.
P.S. — When you write to your father, be so good as to
make my respectful remembrances to him.
1 A mistake is here made, either by Raymond, or Coxe, or Words-
worth. In Childe Harold* s Pilgrimage^ Canto IV, stanzas 68-72,
Byron is describing not the falls of Schaffhausen in Switzerland,
but those of Terni in Italy; the river Velino, on which the latter
occur, being expressly mentioned in stanza 69. In a note to stanza
71, praising the "cascata del marmore** of Terni, Byron says he
"had not yet seen " Schaffhausen. — £d.
214 . WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
1824
CCCXC
William Wordsworth to Walter Savage Lander
Rydal Mount, January 21, 1824.
My dear Sir,
. . . You promise me a beautiful copy of Dante, but I
ought to mention that I possess the Parma folio of 1795,
— much the grandest book on my shelves, — presented to
me by our common friend, Mr. Kenyon.
. . . You have given me minute criticism of Laodamia,
I concur with you in what you say of the first stanza, and
had several times attempted to alter it upon your grounds.
I cannot, however, accede to your objection to the
" second birth," merely because the expression has been
degraded by conventiclers. I certainly meant nothing
more by it than the eadem cura^ and the largior cether,
etc., of Virgil's sixth ^neid. All religions owe their ori-
gin, or acceptation, to the wish of the human heart to
supply in another state of existence the deficiencies of
this, and to carry still nearer to perfection whatever we
admire in our present condition; so that there must be
many modes of expression, arising out of this coinci-
dence, or rather identity of feeling, common to all m)rth-
ologies ; and under this observation I should shelter
the phrase from your censure ; but I may be wrong in
the particular case, though certainly not in the general
TO WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR 215
principle. This leads to a remark in your last, " that
you are disgusted with all books that treat of religion."
I am afraid it is a bad sign in me that I have little relish
for any other. Even in poetry it is the imaginative only,
viz., that which is conversant with, or turns upon infinity,
that powerfully affects me. Perhaps I ought to explain :
I mean to say that, unless in those passages where things
are lost in each other, and limits vanish, and aspirations
are raised, I read with something too much like indiffer-
ence. But all great poets are in this view powerful reli-
^onists, and therefore among many literary pleasures lost,
I have not yet to lament over that of verse as departed.
As to politics, what do you say to Buonaparte on the one
side, and the Holy Alliance on the other, to the prostrate
Tories, and to the contumelious and vacillating Whigs,
who dislike or despise the Church, and seem to care for
the State only so far as they are striving — without hope,
I honestly believe — to get the management of it? As
to the low-bred and headstrong Radicals, they are not
worth a thought. Now my politics used always to impel
me more or less to look out for co-operation, with a view
to embody them in action. Of this interest I feel myself
utterly deprived, and the subject, as matter of reflec-
tion, languishes accordingly. Cool heads, no doubt,
there are, in the country, but moderation naturally keeps
out of sight; and, wanting associates, I am less of an
Englishman than I once was, or could wish to be. Show
me that you excuse this egotism, if you can excuse it, by
turning into the same path, when I have the pleasure
again to hear from you.
It would probably be wasting paper to mention Southey,
as no doubt you hear from him. I saw Mrs. S. and
four of his children the other day ; two of the girls most
2l6 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
beautiful creatures. The eldest daughter is with her father
in town. S. preserves excellent health, and, except that
his hair is grizzled, a juvenile appearance, with more of
youthful spirits than most men. He appears to be accu-
mulating books in a way that, with my weak eyes, appalls
me. A large box of them has just strayed into my house
through a blunder in the conveyance.
. Pray be so good as to let me know what you think of
Dante. It has become lately — owing a good deal, I
believe, to the example of Schlegel ^ — the fashion to extol
him above measure. I have not read him for many years;
his style I used to think admirable for conciseness and
vigour, without abruptness ; but I own that his fictions
often struck me as offensively grotesque and fantastic,
and I felt the poem tedious from various causes.
I have a strong desire to become acquainted with the
Mr. Hare * whom you mention. To the honour of Cam-
bridge, he is in the highest repute there, for his sound
and extensive learning. I am happy to say that the
Master of Trinity College, my brother, was the occasion
of his being restored to the Muses from the Temple. To
Mr. Hare's brother, Augustus,* I am under great obliga-
tion for having volunteered the tuition of my elder son,
who is at New College, Oxford, and who, though he is
not a youth of quick parts, promises, from his assiduity
and passionate love of classical literature, to become an
excellent scholar. . . .
Believe me, ever sincerely and affectionately yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
1 See his GeschichU der alien und neuen Literatur, — Ed.
2 Julius Charles Hare (1795-1855), author of Guesses tit Truths
etc. — Ed, * 1 792-1834. — Ed.
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 217
CCCXCI
William Wordsworth to James Montgomery^
Rydal Mount, Jan. 24, 1824.
... I feel much for their [the climbing boys'] unhappy
situation, and should be glad to see the custom of em-
ploying such helpless creatures in this way abolished.
But at no period of my life have I been able to write
verses that do not spring up from an inward impulse of
some sort or other ; so that they neither seem proposed
nor imposed. ... I should have written sooner, but it
was possible that I might have fallen into a track that
would have led to something. . . .
cccxcn
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Playford Hall, near Ipswich,
Tuesday Morning, 23d May, 1824.
My dear Friend,
On my way from Cambridge last Friday, as soon as
I had secured my luggage, etc., I set off towards your
brother's house, stopped at Mrs. Kitchener's to enquire
after her, and just as I was setting out again your brother
and sister were coming up the Square. Instead of pro-
ceedings to Southgate I turned in again with them, and
Mrs. R. stayed till the coach took me up.
I was much pleased to see a chearful countenance when
she met me, and though I marked the traces of age coming
on, and of past suffering, on the whole she looked much
1 A Scottish poet (i 776-1854), author of The Wanderer in Swit-
terland, Greenland, Pelican Island^ etc. — Ed.
2i8 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
better than I had expected. In fact, she told me she had
rallied wonderfully since her late distress .... I shall
stop in Southgate on my return; Mrs. Luff, who will
be my companion to Rydal, going forward to the inn,
where she will take care of luggage, etc. My time will
be very short, as the coach only remains half an hour at
Bury. We shall travel with our family cares — the whole
of Mrs. Luff's living stock, three singing birds of gay
plumage brought from the Mauritius.
Thank you for your letter, which I received at Cam-
bridge, with the parcel and two books for my brother's
Yours affectionately,
D. Wordsworth.
CCCXCIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont
Rydal Mount, i8th Sept., Saturday, [1824.]
My dear Lady Beaumont,
. . . Now for our own travellers. They have thridded
North Wales, and hardly left a celebrated spot unseen.
Mr. Jones, my brother's first pedestrian companion on his
tour in Switzerland, joined them with his car and servant,
and travelled with them everywhere. Th^y were to part at
the Devil's Bridge last Tuesday, and on Wednesday ex-
pected to reach Mr. Hutchinson's house at Hindwell. . . •
My letters have been from Dora, who gives a most lively
account of what she has seen, especially of the ladies at
Llangollen (I cannot spell these Welsh names), with whom
they spent an evening ; and were well pleased with thm
and their entertainment. Dora says of Conway Castle,
" Having left the vale of Clwydd, we soon came in sight
TO LADY BEAUMONT 219
of Conway, which I think the king of castles. Nothing
that I have heard of it, nothing that I have seen — not even
Sir George's picture — gives one a sufficient idea of its gran-
deur. Here we spent more than three hours, but it would
take more than three days to become acquainted with it.
The longer I stayed the longer I wished to stay. They are
erecting a bridge across the river, on the same plan as at
Bangor Ferry, which I think will be an improvement to the
appearance of the castle when the newness is worn off."
So much for the distant travellers ; but we, at home,
have had our travels. Mrs. Luif, William, and I spent
three days in Borrowdale very agreeably; not wholly in
Borrowdale, for William and I went over the Sty to Was-
dale, with a party of our friends. Bright sunshine after
torrents of rain set ofiF the charms of Borrowdale and the
sublimities of Scawfell to the best advantage, and all
were delighted. . . . Sara Coleridge rode over to us in
Borrowdale. She is extremely thin ; I could not but
think of a lily flower to be snapped by the first blast,
when I looked at her delicate form, her fair and pallid
cheeks. She is busy with proof-sheets, — a labour that
she likes, — yet I should be glad if it were over, and she
could be employed and amused at the same time without
exercising her mind by thought and study. Southey is
much better, and I think he looks pretty well. He had
been on Helvellyn the week before last, a proof of re-
covered strength ! Mrs. Coleridge, and the rest of the
family, well ; except Mrs. Lovel. Southey seemed to be
very sorry to give up the expectation of seeing Sir George
in the North. I told him, however, that there was perhaps
a little chance of his coming, recollecting your message to
Lord Lonsdale. Believe me, dear Lady Beaumont, your
faithful and affectionate friend, ^^ Wordsworth.
220 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCXCIV
William Wordsworth to Sir George Beaumont
HiNDWELL, Radnor, Sept. 20, 1824.
My dear Sir George,
After a three weeks' ramble in North Wales, Mrs.
Wordsworth, Dora, and myself are set down quietly here
for three weeks more. The weather has been delightful,
and everything to our wishes. On a beautiful day we
took the steam-packet at Liverpool, passed the mouth of
the Dee, coasted the extremity of the vale of Clwyd, sailed
close under Great Orme's Head, had a noble prospect of
Penmaenmawr, and having almost touched upon Puffin's
Island, we reached Bangor Ferry a little after six in the
afternoon. We admired the stupendous preparations for
the bridge over the Menai, and breakfasted next morning
at Carnarvon. We employed several hours in exploring
the interior of the noble castle, and looking at it from
different points of view in the neighbourhood.
At half-past four we departed for Llanberris, having
fine views, as we looked back, of Carnarvon Castle, the
sea, and Anglesey. A little before sunset we came in
sight of Llanberris Lake, Snowdon, and all the craggy
hills and mountains surrounding it ; the foreground a
beautiful contrast to this grandeur and desolation. A
green sloping hollow furnished a shelter for one of the
most beautiful collections of lowly Welsh cottages, with
thatched roofs overgrown with plants, anywhere to be
met with. The hamlet is called Cwm-y-Glo. And here
we took boat, while the solemn lights of evening were
receding towards the tops of the mountains. As we
TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT 221
advanced, Dolbadam Castle came in view, and Snowdon
opened up to our admiration. It was almost dark when we
reached the quiet and comfortable inn at Llanberris. . . .
There being no carriage-road, we undertook to walk by
the Pass of Llanberris, eight miles, to Capel Curig; this
proved fatiguing, but it was the only oppressive exertion
we made during the course of our tour. We arrived at
Capel Curig in time for a glance at the Snowdonian range,
from the garden of the inn in connection with the lake
(or rather pool), reflecting the crimson clouds of evening.
The outline of Snowdon is perhaps seen nowhere to more
advantage than from this place. Next morning, five miles
down a beautiful valley to the banks of the Conway, which
stream we followed to Llanrwst ; but the day was so hot
that we could only make use of the morning and evening.
Here we were joined, according to previous arrange-
ment, by Bishop Hobart, of New York, who remained
with us till two o'clock next day, and left us to complete
his hasty tour through North and South Wales. In the
afternoon arrived my old college friend and youthful com-
panion among the Alps, the Rev. R. Jones, and in his car
we all proceeded to the Falls of the Conway, thence up
that river to a newly-erected inn on the Irish road, where
we lodged, having passed through bold and rocky scenery
along the banks of a stream which is a feeder of the Dee.
Next morning we turned from the Irish road three or four
miles to visit the " Valley of Meditation " (Glyn Mjrvyr),
where Mr. Jones has, at present, a curacy, with a com-
fortable parsonage. We slept at Corwen, and went down
the Dee to Llangollen, which you and dear Lady B.* know
well. Called upon the celebrated recluses,^ who hoped
1 Beaumont. — Ed.
* The Lady E. Butler and the Hon. Miss Ponsonby. — Ed.
222 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
that you and Lady B. had not forgotten them ; they cer-
tainly had not forgotten you, and they begged us to say
that they retained a lively remembrance of you both. We
drank tea and passed a couple of hours with them in the
evening, having visited the aqueduct over the Dee and
Chirk Castle in the afternoon. Lady £.^ has not been
well, and has suffered much in her eyes, but she is sur-
prisingly lively for her years. Miss P.^ is apparently in
unimpaired health. Next day I sent them the following
sonnet from Ruthin, which was conceived, and in a great
measure composed, in their grounds —
A stream, to mingle with your favourite Dee,
Along the Vale of Meditation flows ;
So named by those fierce Britons, pleased to see
In Nature's face the expression of repose, etc.
... We passed three days with Mr. Jones's friends in
the vale of Clwyd, looking about us, and on the Tuesday
set off again, accompanied by our friend, to complete our
tour. We dined at Conway, walked to Benarth, the view
from which is a good deal choked up with wood. A small
part of the castle has been demolished, for the sake of
the new road to communicate with the suspension bridge,
which they are about to make to the small island opposite
the castle, to be connected by a long embankment with
the opposite shore. The bridge will, I think, prove rather
ornamental when time has taken off the newness of its
supporting masonry; but the mound deplorably impaurs
the majesty of the water at high-tide; in fact it destroys
its lakelike appearance.
Our drive to Aber in the evening was charming, the
sun setting in glory. We had also a delightful walk next
1 Eleanor Butler. — Ed. 2 Ponsonby. — Ed.
TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT 223
morning up the vale of Aber, terminated by a lofty water-
fall ; not much in itself, but most striking as a closing
accompaniment to the secluded valley. Here, in the early
morning, I saw an odd sight — fifteen milkmaids together,
laden with their brimming pails. How chearf ul and happy
they appeared ! and not a little inclined to joke after the
manner of the pastoral persons in Theocritus. That day
brought us to Capel Curig again, after a charming drive
up the banks of the Ogwen, having previously had beauti-
ful views of Bangor, the sea, and its shipping. From Capel
Curig down the justly celebrated vale of Nant Gwynant to
Beddgelert. In this vale are two small lakes, the higher of
which is the only Welsh lake which has any pretensions to
compare with our own ; and it has one great advantage over
them, that it remains wholly free from intrusive objects.
We saw it early in the morning; and with the greenness
of the meadows at its head, the steep rocks on one of its
shores, and the bold mountains at both extremities, a feature
almost peculiar to itself, it appeared to us truly enchanting.
The village of Beddgelert is much altered ; for the
houses have, in a great measure, supplanted the old
rugged and tufted cottages ; and a smart hotel has taken
the place of the lowly public-house in which I took
refreshment almost thirty years ago, previous to a mid-
night ascent to the summit of Snowdon. At B. we were
agreeably surprised by the appearance of Mr. Hare, of
New College, Oxford. We slept at Tan-y-bwlch, having
employed the afternoon in exploring the beauties of the vale
of Festiniog. Next day to Barmouth, whence, the follow-
ing morning, we took boat and rowed up its sublime estuary,
which may compare with the finest of Scotland, having the
advantage of a superior climate. From Dolgelly we went
to Tal-y-Llyn, a solitary and very interesting lake under
224 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Cader Idris. Next day, being Sunday, we heard service
performed in Welsh, and in the afternoon went part of the
way down a beautiful valley to Machynlleth, next morning
to Aberystwith, and up the Rheidol to the DeviPs Bridge,
where we passed the following day in exploring those two
rivers, and Hafod in the neighbourhood.
I had seen these things long ago, but either my memory
or my powers of observation had not done them justice.
It rained heavily in the night, and we saw the waterfalls
in perfection. While Dora was attempting to make a
sketch from the chasm in the rain, I composed by her
side the following address to the torrent:
How art thou named ? In search of what strange land,
From what huge height descending ? Can such force
Of water issue from a British source ? ^
Next day, viz., last Wednesday, we reached this place,
and found all our friends well, except our good and valu-
able friend, Mr. Monkhouse, who is here, and in a very
alarming state of health. . . . He is a near relation of
Mrs. Wordsworth, and one, as you know, of my best
friends. I hope to see Mr. Price, at Foxley, in a few
days. Mrs. Wordsworth's brother is about to change his
present residence for a farm close by Foxley.
Now, my dear Sir George, what chance is there of your
being in Wales during any part of the autumn ? I would
strain a point to meet you anywhere, were it only for a
couple of days. Write immediately, or should you be
absent without Lady Beaumont, she will have the good-
ness to tell me of your movements. I saw the Lowthers
just before I set o& ; all well. You probably have heard
^ See Vol. VII, pp. 129-130, of the Poetical Works^ published by
Messrs. Macmillan in their Eversley edition.
TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT 225
from my sister. It is time to make an end of this long
letter, which might have been somewhat less dry if I had
not wished to make you master of our whole route.
Except ascending one of the high mountains — Snowdon
or Cader Idris — we omitted nothing, and saw as much
as the shortened days would allow. With love to Lady
Beaumont and yourself, dear Sir George, from us all,
I remain, ever most faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
cccxcv
Dorothy Wordsworth to John Kenyon
Rydal Mount, October 4th, [1824.]
My dear Sir,
About three weeks ago, on returning from a walk, a
letter, in which I instantly recognised your handwriting,
Was given to me. ... I was reconciled to your having
been compelled to visit the sea and the grey-green fields
of Bognor, instead of our brighter valleys, as you would
have found neither my brother, nor sister, nor niece at
borne ; and I hope that you will have free choice next
iummer, and that choice will lead you hither. . . .
I need not say how glad we should have been to accept
^our friendly invitation, had it been in our power to visit
^ou at Bath, and to take a ramble on the Quantock
Fiills, on which, through God's mercy, we can yet walk
J»ith as light a foot as in the days of our youth. But it is
ime to begin with what has been done. My brother and
Dora left me at Cambridge in May ; they returned directly
to Rydal Mount, and I followed them in June, after pay-
ing a short visit to Mrs. Clarkson near Ipswich. Since
that time we have had scarcely anything but fine summer
226 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
weather, such as you ought to have when you first intro-
duce Mrs. Kenyon to these lakes and mountains; and
though, as I say, I am not sorry that you did not come in
the autumn months I wish you could have been here in
the summer. It will be six weeks to-morrow since Mrs.
Wordsworth and my brother left us. Three of those
weeks they spent in North Wales, thridding that romantic
country through every quarter. My brother — to whom
it was familiar ground when a very young man — has
been pleased beyond expectation and remembrance, and
his wife and daughter (to them all was new) have been
delighted. They have, however, had a sad draw-back
from the agreeable thoughts and feelings which they
carried along with them to South Wales. There*, on the
banks of the Wye, they met our friend, Mr. Thomas
Monkhouse, who by the advice of physicians had come
thither, to his brother, for the sake of quiet, dry and pure
air, and chearful society. . . . My brother and sister
were heart struck at the first sight of him. He looks
like a person far gone in consumption.
You will be glad to hear that my nephew William is,
though not a thriving plant, what — but for his looks — we
should call healthy at present. He is not fit for a public
school. Therefore he attends Hartley Coleridge, who
has now fourteen scholars — a flourishing concern for an
Ambleside schoolmaster 1 — and he is steady and regular.
I have just had a letter from Mrs. Coleridge, by which I
learn that your friends, Mr. and Mrs. Guillemard, are at
Keswick. I shall desire her to say to them that I hope,
if they return by this road, they will turn aside to look at
Rydal Mount, though there is no chance of their finding
my brother and sister at home. I think we shall hardly
see them before the middle of November, as they think
TO JOHN KENYON 227
of pa3ring a short visit to Sir George and Lady Beaumont
at Coleorton, on leaving Wales, and most likely it will be
the third week of this month before they leave Wales. . . .
Yours truly,
D. Wordsworth.
CCCXCVI
William Wordsworth to Alatic Watts^
Rydal Mount, Ambleside,
November 16, 1824.
Dear Sir,
On my return home, after a prolonged absence, I found
upon my table your little volume and accompanying letter,
for both of which I return you sincere thanks. The letter
written by my sister upon their arrival does not leave it
less incumbent on me to notice these marks of your atten-
tion. Of the poems I had accidentally a hasty glance
before ; I have now perused them at leisure, and notwith-
standing the modest manner in which you speak of their
merits, I must be allowed to say that I think the volume
one of no common promise, and that some of the pieces
are valuable, independent of such consideration. My
sister tells me she named the Ten Years Ago, It is
one of this kind ; and I agree with her in rating it more
highly than any other of the collection. Let me point
out the thirteenth stanza of the first poem as — with the
exception of the last line but one — exactly to my taste,
both in sentiment and language. Should I name other
poems that particularly pleased me, I might select the
1 Editor of the Leeds Intelligencer^ the Standard^ and author of
Poetical Sketches^ etc. — Ed.
228 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Sketch from Real Life^ and the l3n*ical pieces, the Serenade
and Dost thou love the Lyre f The fifth stanza of the latter
would be better omitted, slightly altering the commence-
ment of the preceding one. In lyric poetry the subject and
simile should be as much as possible lost in each other.
It cannot but be gratifying to me to learn from your
letter that my productions have proved so interesting;
and, as you are induced to say, beneficial, to a writer whose
pieces bear such undeniable marks of sensibility as appear
in yours. I hope there may not be so much in my writings
to mislead a young poet as is by many roundly asserted.
"... I am disposed strenuously to recommend to
your habitual perusal the great poets of our own country,
who have stood the test of ages. Shakespeare I need
not name, nor Milton, but Chaucer and Spenser are apt
to be overlooked. It is almost painful to think how far
these surpass all others. . . ."
I have to thank you, I presume, for a Leeds Intelligencer^
containing a critique on my poetical character, which,
but for your attention, I probably should not have seen.
Some will say, "Did you ever know a poet who would
agree with his critic when he was finding fault, especially
if on the whole he was inclined to praise ? " I will asWJ
" Did you ever know a critic who suspected it to be possible
that he himself might be in the wrong ? " in other words,
who did not regard his own impressions as the test
of excellence ? The author of these candid strictures
accounts with some pains for the disgust or indifference
with which the world received a large portion of my
verse, yet without thinking the worse of this portion him-
self ; but wherever the string of his own sympathies is
not touched the blame is mine. Goody Blake and Harry
Gill is apparently no favourite with the person who has
TO ALARIC WATTS 229
transferred the article into the Leeds paper; yet Mr.
Crabbe in my hearing said that " everybody must be
delighted with that poem." The Idiot Boy was a special
favourite with the late Mr. Fox and with the present
Mr. Canning. The South American critic quarrels with
the Celandine^ and no doubt would with the Daffodils^ etc. ;
yet on this last the other day I heard of a most ardent
panegyric from a high authority. But these matters are
to be decided by principles ; and I only mention the
above facts to show that there are reasons upon the sur-
face of things for a critic to suspect his own judgment.
You will excuse the length of this letter, and the more
readily if you attribute it to the respect I entertain for
your sensibility and genius.
Believe me, very truly,
Your obedient servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCXCVII
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Rydal Mount, 23rd Nov., 1824.
... I am ashamed of being so long in fulfilling my
engagement. But the promises of poets are like the per-
juries of lovers, things at which Jove laughs ! At last,
however, I have sent off the two first books of my trans-
lation ^ to be forwarded by Mr. Beckett. I hope they will
be read with some pleasure, as they have cost me a good
deal of pains. Translation is just as to labour what the
1 Translation of the ^neid. Wordsworth contributed three books
of his translation to the Philological Museum^ printed at Cambridge
in 1882 (see VoL I, p. 382). — Ed.
k
230 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
person who makes the attempt is inclined to. If he
wishes to preserve as much of the original as possible,
and that with as little addition of his own as may be,
there is no species of composition which costs more pains.
A literal translation of an ancient poet in verse, and par-
ticularly in rhyme, is impossible. Something must be left
out, and something added. I have done my best to avoid
the one and the other fault. I ought to say a prefatory
word about the versification, which will not be found much
to the taste of those whose ear is exclusively accommodated
to the regularity of Pope's Homer. I have run the coup-
lets freely into each other, much more even than Dryden
has done. This variety seems, to me, to be called for, if
anything of the movement of the Virgilian versification be j
transferable to our poetry ; and, independent of this con- ;
sideration, long narratives in couplets with the sense closed \
at the end of each are to me very wearisome. . . .
cccxcvin
Dorothy Wordsworth to John Kenyon
[Nov. 28, 1824.]
My dear Sir,
. . . The travellers returned delighted with North
Wales, all in good health and with improved looks. My
brother's eyes have during the summer been mosdy in
their better way, and are still so — very usable for a short
while at a time by daylight ; but hardly at all by candle-
light ; and this, I fear, is the best that we may be allowed {
ever to expect from them. ...
Our friends at Keswick are pretty well. Southey has
got rid of his summer cold. Sara Coleridge's eyes are
:
(
TO JOHN KENYON 23 1
no worse. . . . Derwent keeps his situation as third mas-
ter of Plymouth school, and we (hearing nothing amiss)
conclude he is going on well. As to poor Hartley, he
sticks to his school-hours, is liked by his scholars, and is
still " Hartley " among them ; even (out of school) the
bigger ones address him " Hartley I " This will give you
a notion of the nature of the discipline exercised by
him. ... — .. ,
Believe me, dear sir,
Yours faithfully,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
Rydal Mount, 28th Nov.
Do you hear frequently of or from Mr. Poole ? and how
is he ? Do you know whether Coleridge has lately been
at Harrowgate or not? A rumour of his having been
there has reached these parts, but we think there must be
a mistake in the name, and that it has been some watering-
place in the South.
CCCXCIX
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Dec. I, 1824.
[She quotes the two sonnets by her brother To Mary
Monkhouse and To Rotha Quillinan, and adds] My brother
desires me to beg you (this I know is unnecessary) not to
give copies of these sonnets to any one ; but they having
been composed only for the love of private friends, and
for the sake of expressing his own peculiar feelings with
regard to the two infants, he is particularly desirous that
they should not be spread abroad, either by copies or by
being read to any persons but such as may have an interest
232 MARY WORDSWORTH
in the parents or children. . . . You have heard of the
melancholy fate of Mrs. Quillinan, Rotha's mother. She
died at the age of 28 — at Ivy Cottage.
Pray give our united love and best wishes to Charles
Lamb' and his sister. ... Be so good as to ask Charles
if my brother's translation of Virgil is in his possession.
Tell him, too, that if he would send us a letter either
from his India House desk or from Colebrook cottage,
we should all be well pleased ; and, if addressed to my
brother, I can insure him an answer from himself.
Postscript after postscript ! Did you ever read the
letter of orders for a Scarlet Cardinal ? If you did, I am
sure this will remind you of it. First a morning paper is
desired (to be forwarded the same evening). If that
cannot be, an evening paper next day — if not, a morn-
ing paper sent next day — and last of all, if none of the
above can be had, an evening three-days-a-week paper.
I fear you will not succeed, knowing that there is great
difficulty in obtaining second-hand newspapers.
CCCC
Mary Wordsworth to Lady Beaumont
Rydal Mount, Dec. 9th, [1824.]
My dear Lady Beaumont,
I lose not a moment to tell you that William has made
up his mind to avail himself of your proposal that the
carriage shall be turned over to you, on the ground that
the money which was to pay for it (viz., part of the prod-
uce of the new edition) is gone in another direction —
the purchase of the field.^ We all earnestly hope with
1 Dora's field, below Rydal Mount. — Ed.
TO LADY BEAUMONT 233
you that the time for building will never arrive, but it is
an amusement to talk of, and when spring comes the
employment of planting upon his own land (though under
such a tenure it can scarcely be called so) will be a great
amusement to William, and stand him in the stead of
driving one or two of us in the carriage, which I am sure,
under existing circumstances, it is prudent to give up, as
your kindness allows us to do so.
The field was an extravagant price, but, lying where it
does, it cannot be a loss in the end. And we did hope
that the possession of it might be the means of our being
permitted to remain at Rydal Mount. I fear we herein
have judged wrong.
You take the right view of making the best of our dis-
appointment (if aught so uncertain can be called one) in
regard to Merton. Yet from the Bishop of London's
opinion we have gathered hope that the thing is not
impossible. He says, " I can hardly conceive that there
can be any direct exclusion of the diocese of Chester in
the Book of Merton. If there be, it must be of recent
enactment, that diocese having been formed out of parcels
of York and Lichfield, which one would think would have
continued to enjoy their ancient privileges notwithstand-
ing the change of jurisdiction." We have, therefore, in
conformity to the good bishop's suggestion, made appli-
cation at Oxford, and the result will settle the point. If,
unexpectedly, it prove favourable, William is determined
that the apparent difficulty of the pursuit shall not discour-
age his efforts ; and, indeed, from every letter we have
received we have good hope of success eventually. Lord
Lonsdale had procured us the vote of General Capel ; and
Mr. Canning and many others — whose interest could
not be questioned — expressed not only willingness, but
I
234 MARY WORDSWORTH
pleasure, at the opportunity given them to hope they might
be of service to William. This is gratifying, if nothing
else comes of it ; in which case many considerations are
at hand to persuade me it is best it should be so.
Under any consideration it would be most satisfactory
to us if John's thoughts should rest upon the Church;
but this is a delicate subject, and unless his own mind
— in conjunction with our own wishes, which are not
unknown to him — led him thither, we should think it
wrong to press him into the sacred profession merely to
gain a worldly maintenance. The Army is out of the
question ; he knows that ; and, strong as his bias towards
the profession seems to be, at his age, and in times of
peace, he would not give way to it. You are very good
to be interested, and allow me to write to you, about him.
This subject leads me to another, which you will not be
sorry to hear has ended as it has done.
The Bishop of Chester cannot ordain J. Carter consist-
ently with the rule he has prescribed to himself, viz., not
to ordain any who have not been from the first educated
for the ministry, ue, those who have followed other busi-
ness, or who have not been at the University or at St.
Bees. J. C. is too honourable to seek for ordination in
any other diocese after this declaration, and has given up
the thought of going into the Church. I should have
been sorry, did I not believe that some other means of
advancing himself — more useful to others, as well as
more profitable to himself — may without difficulty be hit
upon ; in the meanwhile he is invaluable where he is.
We have had some few mild days, but the winter has
set in very fiercely. From Herefordshire we hear won-
derful reports of the fineness of the season, and good tid-
ings of Mrs. Hutchinson, which you will be glad to learn.
TO LADY BEAUMONT 235
I conclude that Lady Susan Percy has left ; Coleorton, as
you mention, being shut up for the winter. I enjoy, in
imagination, the quiet of your fireside. I am to send you a
corrected copy of the 3onnet suggested by you ; therefore,
dear Lady Beaumont, with best love and respectful remem-
brances from all.
Believe me ever to be affectionately yours,
M. Wordsworth.
CCCCI
William Wordsworth to Walter Savage Landor
December 11, 1824.
My dear Sir,
I have begged this space from S., which I hope you
will forgive, as I might not otherwise for some time have
courage to thank you for your admirable Dialogues}
They reached me last May, at a time when I was able to
read them, which I did with very great pleasure ; I was
in London then, and have been a wanderer most of the
time since. But this did not keep me silent; I was
deterred by a consciousness that I could not write what
I wished. I concur with you in so much, and differ with
you in so much also, that, though I could have easily dis-
posed, I believe, of my assent, — easily and most pleas-
antly, — I could not face the task of giving my reasons
for my dissent. For instance, it would have required
almost a pamphlet to set forth the grounds upon which
I disagreed with what you have put into the mouth of
Franklin on Irish affairs, the object to my mind of con-
stant anxiety. What would I not give for a few hours'
^ Landor's Imaginary Conversations was published in 1824. — £d.
236 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
talk with you upon republics, kings, and priests and
priestcraft ? This last I abhor ; but why spend our time
declaiming against it ? Better endeavour to improve
priests, whom one cannot and ought not therefore
endeavour to do without. We have far more to dread
from those who would endeavour to expel not only organ-
ised religion, but all religion, from society, than from
those who are slavishly disposed to uphold it ; at least I
cannot help feeling so. Your Dialogues are worthy of
you, and great acquisitions to literature. The classical
ones I like best, and most of all that between Sully and
his brother. That which pleases me the least is the one
between yourself and the Abbd de Lille. The observa-
tions are just, I own, but they are fitter for illustrative
notes than the body of a dialogue, which ought always
to have some little spice of dramatic effect. I long for
the third volume. ... I sent a message of thanks through
Julius Hare, whom I saw at Cambridge in May last.
Ever affectionately and gratefully yours,
W. Wordsworth.
CCCCII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, Dec. 13, [1824.]
My dear Friend,
I should have written to welcome your return to Eng-
land, having about that time an opportunity of making a
letter-carrier of one of our visitors to the Lakes, but I
shrunk from being the first to communicate to you the
sad tidings of poor Thomas Monkhouse's hopeless state,
and merely sent a message through Miss Lamb, begging
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 237
for news of you and an account of your continental
travels. We have heard from Mrs. Clarkson of your being
well and in good spirits. That is all; not a word of
where you have been, or what doing. Pray write to us.
Do not suppose I require a journal ; but spoiled by former
kindnesses in this way, I really have been disappointed at
not receiving one before this time ; write, however, and if
the journal comes hereafter it will be thankfully received.
My brother and sister, with their daughter, arrived at
home a month ago, after an absence of eleven and a half
weeks. Their tour in North Wales was delightful, —
much surpassing remembrance and expectation ; to my
brother the ground had been familiar in the days of his
youth, but all was new to the females. They spent five
weeks among their friends in Herefordshire and Radnor-
shire. . . . My brother and Dora were at Keswick for
four days last week. Southey is in his usual good spirits,
happy in his various employments. Sara Coleridge is
busy correcting proofs ; she has translated a book from
the French, either written by the Chevalier Bayard or by
some other person, concerning him and his times, I know
not which. Cuthbert Southey is a clever boy, and I hope
it will please God to preserve him for the comfort and
delight of his poor father, whose loss seemed irreparable
when Herbert (then his only son) died. Mrs. Coleridge,
Mrs. Southey, and the rest of the family are well. . . .
My brother has not yet looked at The Recluse; he seems
to feel the task so weighty that he shrinks from begin-
ning with it, yet knows that he has now no time to loiter
if another great work is to be accomplished by him. I
say another, for I consider The Excursion as one work,
though. the title-page tells that it is but 2, part of one that
has another title. He has written some very pretty small
238 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
poems. I will transcribe two of them which have been
composed by him with true feeling ; and he has great sat-
isfaction in having done them — especially that on Mary
Monkhouse, for her dear father's sake, who prizes it much.
John is just arrived from Oxford, and your old friend
William is well in health, though not fit to be trusted off
to school at a distance. ... I hardly think my brother
will stir away from Rydal next summer; yet he some-
times hints at going into Ireland, and says when he does
go he will take me along with him. But we have all been
such wanderers during the last twelve months, that the
pleasantest thought at present is that of being gathered
together at home, and all quietly enjoying ourselves.
There is no country that suffers so little as this in bad
weather, none that has so much of beauty (and more
than beauty) in the winter season ; and at Rydal Mount
especially we are favoured, having the sun right before
our windows both at his rising and setting. My brother,
who is famous for providing opportunities for his friends
to do him a service, desires me to ask you to be so good
as to inquire what is the present price of shares in the
Rock Insurance. He has a little money to dispose of,
and you know he was fortunate in his purchase from that
office. Can you recommend any other mode of lapng
out money ? I am further to ask you if it be possible,
through your newsman, or through any one whom you
know of, to have a daily paper sent to my brother the
day after publication. We have lost our good neighbours
from the Ivy Cot (Mr. and Mrs. Elliott), and with them
their newspaper; and now we only see our own provin-
cial papers, and in these long winter evenings my brother
feels a want of the little break-in which our friend^' paper
used to make among us. . . .
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 239
I hope you often see Charles and Mary Lamb, and
that they are well ; Mrs. Field brought a very good account
of her.
What a loss the Lambs, not less than you, must feel
this winter of the cheerful resting-place and never-failing
cordial welcome by Thomas Monkhouse's fireside ! . . .
We all join in kindest remembrances.
Believe me, ever your faithful and affectionate friend,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
CCCCIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry -Crabb Robinson
1824.
. . . My brother was well and in good spirits at Cam-
bridge, and we all enjoyed our visit there very much.
The weather was delightful the first week. Then came
the flood — a new scene for us, and very amusing. On the
Sunday, when the sun shone out again, the Cam, seen
from the Castle Hill, resembled one of the lake-like
reaches of the Rhine. The damage was, I fear, very
great to the farmers ; but though the University grounds
were completely overflowed up to Trinity Library, in the
course of four days most of the damage was repaired.
I think we shall remain here about a fortnight longer.
We intend to stay two nights at Cambridge, two in Leices-
tershire, two in Yorkshire ; and, after that, one day's
journey, a night spent at Kendal, and a three hours' ride
before breakfast will take us to Rydal Mount. . . .
Truly yours,
D. Wordsworth.
240 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
1825
CCCCIV
William Wordsworth to J, Fletcher^
Rydal Mount, Jan'ry 17th, 1825.
Sir,
... I object to nothing which you say upon the scen-
ery of N. W.^, considered per se. Your analysis of it is,
as far as it goes, undeniably just ; but it seems next to
impossible to discriminate between the claims of two
countries to admiration with the impartiality of a judge.
In one's mind one may be just to both, but something of
the advocate will creep into the language, as an office of
this kind is generally undertaken with a view to rectify
some injustice. This was the case with myself, in respect
to a comparison which I have drawn between our moun-
tains and the Alps. The general impression is, I am
afraid, that I give the preference to my native region,
which was far from the truth; but I wished to show
advantages which we possessed that were generally
overlooked, and dwelt upon these, slightly adverting only
to the points in which the Alps have the superiority.
The result then is, that / may appear to have dealt
unfairly with that marvellous portion of the earth that is
presented to view in the Swiss and Italian valleys. In
1 Living at AUerton, near Liverpool. — Ed.
2 North Wales. — Ed.
TO J. FLETCHER 241
like manner you have the appearance of being unjust to
Scotland. I am indeed not acquainted with any tract in
Scotland of equal compass so worthy of admiration as
Snowdon, and its included and circumjacent valleys ; and
this is the district which has suggested the principal part,
if not the whole, of your observations.
But there are tracts in North Wales that are as tame
and uninteresting, and almost as desolate, as the worst
in Scotland, though certainly not so extensive. I cannot
but think that if the landscape interests of the Highlands
were as condensed as those of North Wales, or of this
country, they would bear a comparison more favourable
than you are inclined to allow them. We employed three
weeks in exploring North Wales, far too short a time.
A complete circuit ought to be made of Snowdon, and
the like of Cader Idris ; centres to a pair of magnificent
circles. We went from Dolgelly to Barmouth by land,
and returned by water ; but it was with the utmost regret
that I left the shore, on our right as we returned, wholly
unexplored. We saw something more of the Tal-y-lyn
side of the mountain ; but, owing to the state of the
weather, far less than we wished. I am so much pleased
with your communication, that I am desirous to know
what use you mean to make of it.
If I do not visit Scotland during the ensuing summer,
I shall in all probability re-examine North Wales, not
with any view of writing a tour through the country but
of giving an analysis of Snowdon, Cader-Idris, and their
several dependencies, with a sketch of the characters of
the principal rivers. But you appear to be so well quali-
fied for this, that I should be happy to hear that you
meant to undertake it ; my wish being to teach the touring
world (which is become very numerous), to look through
242 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
the clear eye of the understanding, as well as through the
hazy one of vague sensibility. Pray let me have the con-
clusion at your earliest convenience, and tell me pre-
cisely what you mean by objects being picturesque, and
yet unfit for the pencil. Many objects are fit for the
pencil, which are not picturesque ; but I have been in the
habit of applying the word to such objects only as are so.
I remain, dear sir, your obedient servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCV
William Wordsworth to Samuel Rogers
Rydal Mount, 21 January, 1825.
. . . Where were you last summer ? Mrs. Wordsworth,
my daughter and I, spent three weeks in a delightful ram-
ble through North Wales, and saw something of South
Wales, particularly the course of the Wye above Hereford,
nearly to its source.
I saw Southey the other day ; he was well, and busy
as usual, and as his late letter shows, not quite so chari-
tably disposed to Don Juan deceased as you evidently
are, if I may judge by a tribute to his memory bearing
your name, which I accidentally met with in a newspaper;
but you were the Don's particular friend. An equal indul-
gence, therefore, could not be expected from the laure
ate, who, I will not say was his particular enemy, but
who had certainly no friendship for him. Medwin makes
a despicable figure as the salesman of so much trash. I
do not believe there is a man living, from a shoeblack at the
corner of your street up to the Archbishop of Canterbury
TO SAMUEL ROGERS 243
or the Lord Chancellor, of whose conversation so much
worthless matter could be reported, with so little deserving
to be remembered, as the result of an equal number of
miscellaneous opportunities. Is this the fault of Lord B.
or his Boswell ? The truth is, I fear, that it may be pretty
equally divided between them.
My amanuensis, Mrs. W., says that it is not handsome
in me to speak thus of your friend. No more it is, if he
were your friend mortuus, in every sense of the word;
but his spirit walks abroad, to do some good I hope, but
a plaguy deal of mischief. . . .
Most faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCVI
William Wordsworth to Samuel Rogers
Rydal Mount, 19 Feb., [1825.]
My dear Rogers,
... It has sometimes struck me that my Miscellane-
ous Poems might be so arranged, if thought advisable, as
to be sold in separate volumes. One volume we will say
of local poetry, to consist of The River Duddon, the
Scotch Poems with additions, the Continental Pieces, and
others. A volume of sonnets, perhaps, etc. I throw this
out merely as a hint, being persuaded that many are
deterred by the expense of purchasing the whole, who
would be glad of a part. Yet I am aware there might be
strong objections to this. . . .
Ever faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
244 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCCVII
William Wordsworth to J, Fletcher
Rydal Mount, February 25th.
My dear Sir,
. . . First let me correct an error respecting my own
meaning, into which I have led you. When I observed
that many objects were fitted for the pencil without being
picturesque, I did not mean to allude, as you infer, to the
Dutch School, but to the highest order of the Italian
artists, in whom beauty and grace are predominant ; and
I was censurably careless in not indicating that my eye
was directed less upon landscape than upon their mode
of treating the human figure, in their Madonnas, Holy
Families, and all their pieces of still life. These mate-
rials, as treated by them, we feel to be exquisitely fitted
for the pencil; yet we never think of them as pictur-
esque, but — shall I say — as something higher, some-
thing that realizes the idealisms of our nature, and assists
us in the formation of new ones. Yet I concur with you
that the Dutch School has made excellent use of objects
which in life and nature would not by a superficial ob-
server be deemed picturesque, nor could they with any
propriety, in popular language, be termed so. This, how-
ever, I suspect is because our sense of their picturesque
qualities is overpowered by disgust, which some other
properties about them create. I allude to their pictures
of insides of stables, dung-carts, dunghills, and foul and
loathsome situations, which they not unfrequently are
pleased to exhibit. But strip objects of these qualities,
or rather take such as are found without them, and if
they produce a more agreeable effect upon canvas than
in reality, then I think it may be safely said that the
TO J. FLETCHER 245
qualities which constitute the picturesque are eminently
inherent in such objects.
I will dismiss this (I fear tedious) subject with one
remark, which will be illustrated at large, if I execute my
intention, viz., that our business is not so much with
objects, as with the law under which they are contem-
plated. The confusion incident to these disquisitions has,
I think, arisen principally from not attending to this dis-
tinction. We hear people perpetually disputing whether
this or that thing be beautiful or not, sublime or otherwise,
without being aware that the same object may be both
beautiful and sublime, but it cannot be felt to be such at
the same moment ; but I must stop. Let me only add,
that I have no doubt the fault is in myself, and not in
you, that I have not caught your meaning as clearly as I
could wish.
I do not relish the notion of interfering with any use
you might be disposed to make of your interesting MS.
My own plan is so uncertain that you ought not to cede
anything to it. My first view was, as I have said, to
analyze the regions of Snowdon and Cader Idris, with a
glance at some more remote river scenery in North Wales.
I have since taken up another thought, and feel inclined
to make Snowdon the scene of a dialogue upon nature,
poetry, and painting to be illustrated by the surrounding
imagery. . . .
I wish your tragedies had been more successful, par-
ticularly if you are likely to be discouraged from a second
adventure, though I am the last person to press publica-
tion upon any one, and I think it for the most part very
prejudicial to young writers. I have not seen your plays,
from which no inference can be drawn to their prejudice.
Very few modem publications find their way to me. We
246 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
have no book clubs in this neighbourhood, and when I
am from home — in spring and summer — my eyps are
so apt to be inflamed that I am able to profit little by
anything that falls in my way.
With many thanks and sincere respect, believe me to he
Truly yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCVIII
William Wordsworth to Samuel Rogers
Rydal Mount, March 23, [1825.]
My dear Friend,
... I do not look for much advantage either to Mr. M.,
or to any other bookseller with whom I may treat, and for
still less to myself, but I assure you that I would a thou-
sand times rather that not a verse of mine should ever
enter the press again, than to allow any of them to say
that I was, to the amount of the strength of a hair, de-
pendent upon their countenance, consideration, or patron-
age. . . . You recollect Dr. Johnson's short method of
settling precedence at Dilley's, " No, sir ; authors above
booksellers." ... '
I have seen Southey lately. He tells me that Murray
can sell more copies of any book that will sell at all, than
Longman ; but it does not follow from that, that in the j
end an author will profit more, because Murray sells books
considerably lower to the trade, and advertises even more
expensively than Longman, though that seems scarcely
possible. Southey's Book of the Church cost £\oo ioT
advertising the first edition. This is not equal to my
little tract on the Lakes. The first edition — for which /
got £g Ss. 2d, — was charged £2'ji 2s,^d. for advertising.
TO SAMUEL ROGERS 247
The second edition is already charged £^0 js, 2d, to me ;
the immense profits are yet to come. Thus my throat is
cut ; and if we bargain with M., we must have some pro-
tection from this deadly weapon. I have little to say, —
the books are before the public, — only there will be to
be added to the miscellaneous volumes about sixty pages
of new matter, and two hundred, viz., the " Memorials "
and ** Ecclesiastical Sketches " (not yet incorporated with
them), and 7^ Excursion to be printed uniform with them
in one volume. I mean to divide the poems into five
volumes in this way.
First volume as at present, to consist of " Childhood
and Early Youth," "Juvenile Pieces," and "Poems of
the Affections," withdrawing from it The Blind Highland
Boy (to be added to the " Scotch Poems ") ; Ruth^ Lao-
damia, Her Eyes are Wild, etc., to be added to the
"Poems of the Imagination."
Second volume to consist of poems of " Fancy and
Imagination," as now; the "Scotch Poems" to be sub-
ducted, and their place supplied (as above) with the ode
To Enterprise and others.
Third volume, "Local Poems" — The River Duddon,
" Scotch Poems," with some new ones, " The Continental
Memorials," and " Miscellaneous Poems," selected out of
the four volumes, with some additions, those "On the
Naming of Places," and The Wagonner,
Fourth volume to consist of "Sonnets, Political and
Ecclesiastical," meaning the " Sketches," and " Miscella-
neous," with the Thanksgiving Ode, and other political
ones.
Fifth volume. The White Doe of Rylstone, the " Poems
of Sentiment and Reflection," "Elegies and Epitaphs,"
Final Ode, etc.
248 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Sixth volume, The Excursion,
Now these volumes, I conjecture, will run about three
hundred and forty pages each, and The Excursion to four
hundred and fifty. Of the "Miscellaneous," two vol-
umes,— viz., the local poetry, and the sonnets, — might
perhaps be sold separately to advantage. The others
cannot be divided without much injury to their efiEect
upon any reflecting mind.
As to your considerate proposal of making a selection
of the most admired or the most popular, even were there
not insuperable objections to it in my own feelings, I
should be utterly at a loss how to proceed in that selec-
tion. Therefore I must abide by the above arrangement,
and throw the management of the business upon your
friendship. . . .
Ever your obliged friend,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCIX
William Wordsworth to J, Fletcher
Rydal Mount, April 6th.
Dear Sir,
. . . Your tragedies I have read with much pleasure,
they are in language, versification, and general propriety-
both as to sentiment, character, and conduct of story —
very much above mediocrity; so that I think every one
that reads must approve in no ordinary degree. Never-
theless I am not surprised at their not having attracted
so much attention as they deserve. First, because they
have no false beauties, or spurious interest; and next
(and for being thus sincere I make no apology), the
TO J. FLETCHER 249
passions, especially in the former, are not wrought upon
with so daring a hand as is desirable in dramatic compo-
sition. In the first play, the tragic character of the story
would lead you to expect that the interest would settle
upon the father, who, in his joint character of magistrate
and father, became the judge and executioner of his own
son; but it does not. The lady attached to Giovanni
undergoes the most dramatic feelings of any one in the
piece, — there is a conflict in her mind in more than one
scene that is sufficiently animated ; but the incident which
is the hinge of the whole, viz. the death of Giovanni, is
produced without design, and the play moves throughout
with too little of a prospective interest, so that you do
not hang trembling upon the course of events in part
foreseen.
The second play, though less poetical and elegant, has
I think much more of dramatic interest. Some of the situ-
ations are pregnant with anxiety, and strong emotion ; in
particular the point where the youth arrives, unexpected
by his mother ; and, he himself being safe, has to blast
her congratulatory joy by being the bearer of such miser-
able news as his father's death. This is a fine reverse.
The foster brother's situation is also well suited to tragedy,
and indeed the general course of this story involves in
its nature a plot, — things being done by design, — an
advantage in which, as I have already observed, I think
the other deficient. I am well pleased to possess your
book, and more especially as coming from yourself.
Now for your MS. I find no fault with your Scotch
tour, but that you have given us too little of it. I am
reconciled to your comparative judgment of the two coun-
tries — now understanding it, which I did not before. I
have seen much more of Scotland than you notice, and
250 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
particularly regret your silence upon Loch Linne, Glen-
coe, the Fall of Foyers, and those upon the river Beauly,
with all of which I was delighted ; but the pleasure given
by these several scenes depends absolutely upon the
weather, and upon accidents. When I wished to see the
sublime mountains of Glencoe a second time, they were
hidden by vapoury rain ; Loch Linnhe — which looking
seaward from Portnacroish (excuse bad spelling) had
presented to my eyes one of the most beautiful visions
I ever beheld — appeared upon a second visit many years
after (from a changed state of atmosphere only) with its
islands and shores, cold, spotty, dreary, and forbidding.
Waterfalls, and close river scenes, are full as much as
extensive landscapes, dependent upon accident. You
may have too much, or too little, water. Those of Foyers
and Beauly I have only seen once, and in perfection.
You have been successful in clearing up my doubts as
to your meaning upon the picturesque. It would occupy
more paper than I have before me, and require more
exertion than this languid summer's day in April (for such
it is, the heat reverberated from our mountains) would
allow, to establish my position that "the sublime and
beautiful cannot be felt in the same instant of time";
attaching such meaning to the words as I think they
ought to bear. One is surprised that it should have been
supposed for a moment, that Longinus writes upon the
sublime, even in our vague and popular sense of the
word. What is there in Sappho's ode that has any affin-
ity with the sublimity of Ezekiel or Isaiah, or even of
Homer or ^schylus? Longinus treats of animated,
empassioned, energetic, or, if you will, elevated writing.
Of these, abundant instances are to be found in iEschy-
lus and Homer; but nothing would be easier than to
TO J. FLETCHER 25 1
show, both by positive and negative proof, that his J^ors
when translated "sublimity" deceives the English reader,
by substituting an etymology for a translation. Much of
what I observe you call sublime, / should denominate
grand or dignified. But, as I wrote before, we shall
never see clearly into this subject, unless we turn from
objects to laws. I am far from thinking that I am able
to write satisfactorily upon matters so subtile, yet I hope
to make a trial and must request your patience till that
time.
I cannot conclude without expressing a hope that the
beauties of our Lakes may tempt you to revisit them,
when you will receive a kind welcome from myself and
family at any time. I am a little too old to be an active
guide for things at a distance, but I would lead you to
the most interesting points in my own neighbourhood
with great pleasure.
Ever sincerely I remain, dear sir, yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCX
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, April 12th, 1825.
My dear Friend,
I think we should have heard from you ere this had not
the same causes prevented you that kept me from writ-
ing. When our dear friend was taken for ever from
us, I shrank from the task, and persuaded myself that
you (sympathizing so truly with us as I know you do)
would write to some of us. Then came the happy tidings
252 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
of Charles Lamb's freedom ; and again I thought every
post would bring a report from you of the effect upon
him, and his good sister, of some pleasant evening you
had spent together in their quiet home. I expect in vain,
and the opportunity of sending a packet to London tempts
me to break the silence, though with little to say of our-
selves. And why should I dwell on regrets for a loss^
which time can never repair to us? We feel it daily.
Though so far distant from the house which he inhabited,
his was a hospitable home ever ready for us. No doubt
you have heard what an easy death he had. He was pre-
pared for it thoroughly, yet no one through the course of
a long illness perhaps ever clung more fondly to life.
Probably his exemption from severe pain might in part
contribute to this. Then he had been a fortunate and a
happy man, and was deeply attached to family and
friends. ...
Before I turn to other subjects I must mention one
grievous circumstance. Our poor friend made his own
will, in consequence of which his intentions towards his
brother will in some degree be frustrated. He had left
him his estate (in Cumberland), but having only two wit-
nesses to the will, the estate will go to the child. This
is the more to be regretted, as — when she comes of age
— her fortune will be large, far beyond the needs of any
woman of her rank ; and the uncle, owing to bad times
for farming, is in rather confined circumstances. He,
however, only laments the circumstance as defeating his
lamented brother's wishes — not at all on his own ac-
count. He and Mrs. Hutchinson, the sister, will each
have a handsome legacy.
^ The death of Thomas Monkhouse. — Ed.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 253
A few days ago, my brother had a most interesting
letter from Charles Lamb. He feels Thomas Monk-
house's death just as I thought he would feel it. Oh!
that I could flatter myself that this release from the
necessity of remaining in, or near, London would ever
bring us the happiness of seeing them here ; and, above
all, of having them stationary near us for a few months
— a whole winter — or a whole summer! This, I fear,
can never be.
The Quarterly Review is now in the house. My brother
has read your article with great pleasure, and says you
think too humbly of the style in which it is done. He
thinks the matter excellent, the style good enough. I
have not yet had an opportunity of reading it.
. . . My brother will soon be sending out a new edition
of his poems — in six volumes — The Excursion included.
I never have thanked you for the valuable notes you were
so kind as to add to my journal of our tour — not, I assure
you, because they were not prized, but because, except one,
I did not discover them till the other day, when glancing
my eye over it, on lending it to a friend. As to compress-
ing, or rewriting, I shall never do it. My plan would be
— make another tour, and write a better journal; that
is, in some respects more comprehensive, in others less
so. Not that I regret that this is as it is ; for it well
answers the purpose intended, of reviving recollections.
I do not think my brother will stir far from home this
summer, he was so much of a wanderer the last and the
preceding ; indeed we shall most likely all stay at home,
so pray contrive to peep in amongst us on your way to
some other quarter of his Majesty's dominions ; or, come
on purpose, and stay as long as you like. We cannot
hope to see you if you have a Continental scheme.
254 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
Give our kind love to Charles and Mary Lamb when
you see them, and believe me
Your faithful and affectionate friend,
D. Wordsworth.
In what an admirable point of view is your friend
Flaxman's character set forth inHayley's Life I
How is your sister ?
CCCCXI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs. Clarkson
Rydal Mount, 4th May, [1825.]
My dear Friend,
An unusual event, a letter from Coleridge, impels me
to take the pen immediately. He begins by requesting,
in the most . earnest language, that I will use my interest
with the Hoares of Hampstead (if I have any), and with
Mr. Clarkson, to promote an object that he has very
much at heart. He then states that a Mr. Harrison, a
Quaker, is coming to settle at Highgate ; and that he is
most anxious that his friend, Mr. Oilman, should be rec-
ommended to the said Mr. Harrison, as his medical attend-
ant. Now this matter, as nakedly stated to us, at this
distance from Highgate, might seem of little importance ;
but to dear Coleridge, from his extreme earnestness, it is
evident few things at this present time are of more. I
will quote froni his letter, and you shall judge for your-
selves. But, by the bye, I must first explain that the
letter (except the introductory sentence) was originally'
addressed to another friend, who, he afterwards found,
TO MRS. CLARKSON 255
had no acquaintance with Mr. Harrison ; and Coleridge,
not having time to write another letter to me, forwarded
that which had been intended for his male friend.
" I hear that a neighbour of yours is coming to settle
at Highgate, and I will venture to entreat you, in my own
name, and as an act of friendship to me personally, that
you would use your interest in recommending Mr. Gilman
as his medical attendant." Coleridge then goes on to
speak in high terms of Mr. G.'s medical skill, and of his
excellent moral character; and states that a Mr. Snow
has been recommended to Mr. Harrison by one of the
"religious"; and, from what C. says, it appears that he
is apprehensive of a formidable rival in this Mr. Snow,
who is favoured by certain denominations of religious
persons. This will throw some light upon Coleridge's
wish that his friend should attend Mr. Harrison's family.
We live in a strange world. What can be so stupid as
to choose a medical adviser from any other considera-
tions than professional skill, humanity, and integrity !
To these points Coleridge speaks decidedly in Mr. Gil-
man's favour, and all Coleridge's friends think highly of
him. . . . Sara's translation of Bayard's Life^ is pub-
lished ; the style and execution very good. She is to go
to London in the autumn. Her eyes are not worse, but no
better. Mrs. Coleridge was very pleasant. Worrying is
of no use with her children ; and she is now satisfied to
be quiet, and does not fret and flurry as she used to do.
Adversity is the best school, I believe, for the best of us ;
and poor Mrs. Coleridge has had enough of it, in the
1 A translation from the French, issued in two volumes under the
title of 77ie Right Joyous and Pleasant History of the Facts ^ Tests ^ and
Prowesses of the Chevalier Bayard^ the Good Knight without Fear and
without Reproach : by the Loyal Servant^ first published in 1825. — Ed.
256 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
shape of humiliation and disappointed hopes concerning
the talents of her sons. Dear Sara is a sweet creature,
so thoughtful and gentle, patient and persevering. . . .
CCCCXII
William Wordsworth to Sir George Beaumont
Rydal Mount, May 28th, [1825.]
My dear Sir George,
It delights me indeed to receive a letter from you
written in such a happy state of mind. Heaven grant
that your best wishes may be realised; and surely the
promises from this alliance are of the fairest kind. What
you say of George gives me great pleasure. I hope he
will enter into your feelings and Lady Beaumont's in
respect to Coleorton, with a becoming spirit; so that
your views may not be frustrated. This I have much at
heart. The place is worthy of the pains you have taken
with it, and one cannot breathe a better wish for him, as
your successor, than that his duties there should become
his principal pleasure. How glad should we be to hear
that Lady Beaumont is tranquillised; I wish we could
transport her hither for a week at least under this quiet
roof, in this bright and fragrant season of fresh green
leaves and blossoms. Never, I think, have we had so
beautiful a spring ; sunshine and showers coming just as
if they had been called for by the spirits of Hope, Love,
and Beauty. This spot is at present a paradise, if you
will admit the term when I acknowledge that yesterday
afternoon the mountains were whitened with a fall of
snow. But this only served to give the landscape — with
TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT 257
all its verdure, blossoms, and leafy trees — a striking Swiss
air, which reminded us of Unterseen and Interlaken.
Most reluctantly do I give up the hope of our seeing
Italy together ; but I am prepared to submit to what you
think best. My own going with any part of my family
must be deferred till John is nearer the conclusion of his
University studies; so that for this summer it must not
be thought of. I am truly sensible of your kind offer of
assistance, and cannot be affronted at such testimonies
of your esteem. We sacrifice our time, our ease, and
often our health, for the sake of our friends (and what
is friendship unless we are prepared to do so ?). I will
not then pay money such a compliment, as to allow //
to be too precious a thing to be added to the catalogue,
where fortunes are unequal, and where the occasion is
mutually deemed important. But at present this must
sleep.
You say nothing of painting. What was the fate of
Mont Blanc? and what is the character of the present
annual exhibitions.? Leslie, I hear, has not advanced.
John Bull is very bitter against poor Haydon, who, it is
to be apprehended, is not making progress in the art.
I never had a higher relish for the beauties of Nature
than during this spring, nor enjoyed myself more. What
manifold reason, my dear Sir George, have you and I
to be thankful to Providence I Theologians may puzzle
their heads about dogmas as they will, the religion of
gratitude cannot mislead us. Of that we are sure, and
gratitude is the handmaid to hope, and hope the har-
binger of faith. I look abroad upon Nature, I think
of tlie best part of our species, I lean upon my friends,
and I meditate upon the Scriptures, especially the Gospel
of St. John ; and my creed rises up of itself with the
258 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
ease of an exhalation, yet a fabric of adamant. God
bless you, my ever dear friend. Kindest love to Lady
Beaumont
W. Wordsworth.
CCCCXIII
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
May, 1825.
It rejoices me to see the Lowther name and the Low-
ther interest in the minority.* I have not seen the re-
ports of the evidence before Parliament, only certain
extracts in newspapers, and passages quoted in the de-
bates. But whatever may be the weight of such evidence,
it cannot overbalance in my mind all that I have read in
history, all that I have heard in conversation, and all that
I have observed in life. As far as I can learn, it is in a
great degree a measure ex "parte; but were not this so, I
must own that, in a complex and subtle religious question,
as this is, I should reckon little on formal and dressed-up
testimony, even upon oath, compared with what occurs
in the regular course of life, and escapes from people in
unguarded moments. Little value, then, can be put upon
committee-evidence, contradicting (as here) men's opin-
ions in their natural overflow. From what may be ob-
served among the Irish and English Romanists, it is
justly to be dreaded that there is a stronger disposition
to approximate to their brethren in Italy, Spain, Portugal,
and elsewhere, than to unite in faith and practice with
us Protestants. . . .
The majority of the people of England are against
concession, as would have been proved had they been
1 Presumably in the House of Commons. — Ed.
TO LORD LONSDALE 259
fairly appealed to, which was not done because the laity
were unwilling to take the lead in a matter (notwithstand-
ing all that has been said to the contrary) eminently eccle-
siastical ; and the clergy are averse from coming forward
except in a corporate capacity, lest they should be accused
of stirring up the people for selfish views ; and thus the
real opinion of the nation is not embodied.
I ventured to originate a petition from the two parishes
of Grasmere and Windermere, including the town of
Ambleside. There were not half a dozen dissenting
voices. . . .
CCCCXIV
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
June, 1825.
... I hear that Mr. Marshall is a member of the Lon-
don College Committee, and active in all the improve-
merits now going forward. It cannot be doubted that a
main motive with the leaders of this and similar institu-
tions is to acquire influence for political purposes. Mr.
Brougham mentions, as a strong inducement for founding
the proposed college, that it will render medical educa-
tion so much cheaper. It is clearly cheap enough. We
have far more doctors than can find patients to live by ;
and I cannot see how society will be benefited by swarms
of medical practitioners starting up from lower classes in
the community than they are now furnished by. The
better able the parents are to incur expense, the stronger
pledge have we of their children being above meanness,
and unfeeling and sordid habits. As to teaching Belles
Lettres, Languages, Law, Political Economy, Morals, etc.,
26o DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
by lectures, it is absurd. Lecturers may be very useful
in Experimental Philosophy, Geology, and Natural His-
tory, or any Art or Science capable of illustration by
experiments, operations, and specimens; but in other
departments of knowledge they are, in most cases, worse
than superfluous. Of course I do not include in the
above censure College Lectures^ as they are called, when the
business consists not of haranguing the pupils, but in
ascertaining the progress they hav^ made. . . .
ccccxv
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry, Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, Kendal,
July 2, 1825.
My dear Friend,
. . . Though my brother is preparing for the press he
has not yet even fixed upon a publisher, so it will be
some time before the poems are out. He has had so
little profit in his engagement with Longman that he is
inclined to try another ; and he (Longman), after assur-
ing him that it would not answer for the concern to allow
a larger share of profits — or, in other words, more than
half (my brother being secured from loss) — assured him
that they should not think themselves unhandsomely used
if he applied elsewhere (as he had proposed to do). After
all, I think, it will prove that he is not likely to mend him-
self; and perhaps may turn again to the Longmans, from
whom, if he parts, he parts on friendly terms. I wish he
had made up his mind, and, for my part, am sorry that
he has ever entertained a thought of change ; for his
works are not likely to be much aided in sale, by exertions
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 26 1
even of the most active publishers. Do not mention this
matter, nor speak of it in reply to me; for I believe
no one has heard of it except the person employed as
a negotiator, and, I assure you, there has been no great
encouragement. I hope we may see you here some
weeks before the poems can be printed; for if you go
into Ireland you will certainly not refuse a berth in one
of these packets to Glasgow, thence to the Hebrides, and
you will come home by Rydal Mounts to say nothing
of the inducement of the Lakes. My brother would
gladly accompany you, and make me one of the party.
He would do so were money no object; nor indeed
would he make it an object in the present case, had he
not a much grander scheme in view, for which all our
savings must be heaped up; no less than spending a
whole winter in Italy, and a whole summer in moving
about from place to place, in Switzerland and elsewhere,
not neglecting the Tyrol. John Wordsworth will have
finished at Oxford at the close of the year 1826 ; and we
talk, if it can be accomplished, of setting out in the spring
of 1827, and in our day-dreams you always make one
of the company. I speak seriously; such is our plan.
But even supposing life, health, and strength are contin-
ued to us, there will still be difficulties, — the Stamp
Office, the house, home, and other concerns to be taken
care of, etc. None of these difficulties, however, appear
to be insurmountable ; so you must go to the Highlands,
on purpose to come back by this road, to plan with my
brother, to give us estimates of expenses, and to enable
us to settle a hundred things. My brother fancies that
he might almost make the journey cost nothing by resid-.
ing two years abroad; but that is too long a period to
enter into the first scheme, especially for a government
262 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
agent. I trust before 1827 you will be quite satisfied of
the propriety of retiring from the law, and that in the
meantime you will have continued to you the cheerful
spirits which make even the drudgery of your London
life no misfortune. We keep our scheme entirely to our-
selves, you only (as a destined sharer in it) are made
acquainted with it ; and for various reasons — especially
the delicacy required in managing any business of this
kind with the rulers of the Stamp Office — we shall not
speak of it, till it is needful to make arrangements for
effecting our purpose ; therefore give no hint to any one.
Surely amongst so many we might make up a tour, —
print and publish, — that would at least have enough of
originality in the manner of it to ensure some profit ; but
we must see our way clearly before us without any help
of that kind. But no more of this. I cast my eyes with
fear and trembling on what I have just been writing. Of
the party from this house, one only (my niece) is going.
The youngest of us elder ones will have numbered fifty-
four years next Christmas. This thought leads me to
your poor sister, who may, I fear, have much pain to en-
dure before her final release. If she be still near you,
pray give my kind regards to her and sincerest good
wishes. ... It would give us great pleasure to hear of
Charles Lamb's having got through his troublesome busi-
ness, and being again able thoroughly to enjoy his liberty.
When you wrote he had a sort of nervous feverishness
hanging upon him. A long journey, I find, is not to be
thought of; but I hope his sister and he will make one of
their little trips before the summer is over. . . .
We are sadly out of the way of magazines. This I
say only for Charles Lamb's sake. I begin now to
despair of seeing any of his last papers till they are
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 263
published all together ; yet if Mr. De Quincey ever does
find his way back to Rydal, we can borrow the magazines
from him. With all this scarcity of magazines, novels
from our lady friends have poured in upon us so fast
that we are muddled among them, and can never attempt
to get through all. Besides, I am deep in Madame de
Genlis's life,^ a hundred times more entertaining than the
best of our now-a-day novels, and how much more sur-
prising ! If you have not read this book, pray do so. I
ought to have told you that after three weeks' stay at Har-
rogate we hope to have Miss Hutchinson at Rydal, and
certainly shall, if Mrs. Hutchinson is tempted, according
to our expectation, by the Harrogate waters. When you
see the Lambs, tell them about her. They also, I believe,
know Mrs. H. and her only surviving brother, that excel-
lent man, John Monkhouse. My brother and sister beg
their tenderest remembrances, and Dora too, who, in spite
of your sauciness, will be very glad to borrow your arm
on tiie Italian precipices. Now say in your next that
Ireland and Scotland are your choice for this year, and
that you will come and plan with us for Italy. I wish
this letter were not half so long, but I know your good
nature too well to fear that you will be angry, or even
a little cross. God bless you.
Ever your affectionate friend,
D. Wordsworth.
1 The Comtesse de Genlis (i 746-1830) issued her JlfAnoires in
1825. — Ed.
264 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCCXVI
William Wordsworth to Alaric Watts
Kent's Bank, August 5, 1825.
Dear Sir,
The interest which you kindly take in the publication
of my poems, as expressed by Miss Jewsbury, encourages
me to trouble you with a letter upon the subject. A pro-
posal was made to Mr. John Murray, the publisher, by
Mr. Rogers, to print seven hundred and fifty copies of
six volumes, including The Excursion^ the author incur-
ring two-thirds of the expense, and receiving two-thirds
of the profits. Upon Mr. Murray agreeing to this, I
wrote him to inform me what would be the expense ; but
to this letter, written three months ago, I have received
no answer ; and therefore cannot but think that I am at
liberty, giving due notice to Mr. Murray, to make an
arrangement elsewhere. Could a bookseller of spirit and
integrity be found, I should have no objection to allow
him to print seven hundred and fifty or a thousand copies,
for an adequate remuneration, of which you would be a
judge on whom I could rely.
My daughter will have thanked Miss Jewsbury in my
name for her two interesting volumes. Phantasmagoria}
Knowing the friendship which exists between you and
that lady, it would gratify me to enlarge upon the pleas-
ure which my family and I have derived from her society,
and to express our high opinion of her head and heart.
It is impossible to foretell how the powers of such a mind
1 Maria Jane Jewsbury (i 800-1833). Her Phantasmagoria^ or
Sketches of Life and Character ^ published at Leeds in two volumes,
was dedicated to Wordsworth. — Ed.
TO ALARIC WATTS 265
may develop themselves, but my judgment inclines to
pronounce her natural bent to be more decidedly toward
life and manners than poetic work.
If I have ever the pleasure of seeing you at Rydal
Mount, I should be happy to converse with you upon
certain principles of style, taking for my text any one of
your own animated poems, say the last in your Souvenir^
which along with your other pieces in the same work ^
I read with no little admiration. With many thanks and
high esteem,
I remam
Your obliged servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXVII
William Wordsworth to Alaric Watts
LowTHER Castle, August 13, 1825.
... I do not wish to dispose of the copyright of my
works. The value of works of imagination it is impos-
sible to predict. . . .
CCCCXVIII
William Wordsworth to Alaric Watts
September 5, 1825.
My dear Sir,
The offer of Hurst and Robinson is anything but
liberal, and, sharing your opinion, I decline it. Mr.
1 The Sleeping Cupid. — Ed.
2 The Death of the First-Born ; Kirkstall Abbey, — Ed.
266 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Longman, on his recent visit, opened the conversation by
observing that Messrs. Hurst and Robinson were about
to publish my poems. I answered, no ; that, through a
friend, I had opened negotiations with them, but that
their offer had not satisfied me. He asked me to name
a sum ; and I told him I could not incur the trouble of
carrying the work through the press for less than £3^^
for an edition of a thousand copies, twenty to be placed
at my own disposal. He made no objection, and pro-
posed to lay my offer before his partners. Mr. Longman
behaved perfectly like a gentleman, and had I to deal
with him alone there would be no obstacle. . . .
I am, dear sir.
Your obliged friend and servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXIX
William Wordsworth to Alaric Watts
-, , ^. Rydal, September 5, 1825.
My dear Sir,
Allow me to introduce to you Mr. Quillinan, a particu-
lar friend of ours, who is just leaving us. He is merely
passing through Manchester, but I think you will be
pleased with each other, however short the interview. I
forgot to thank you for the favourable notice you took of
the intended edition of my poems in your journal. I
have this moment received my annual account from Long-
man. The Excursion has been more than a year out of
print, and none of the Poems are left. I find that for
forty-nine cppies of the four volumes I have received
£2 ^'1/^-6 net profit, great part of which would have been
TO ALARIC WATTS 267
swallowed up in advertisements if I had not forbidden
them a year ago.
Ever most faithfully,
Your obliged friend and servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXX
Dorothy Wordsworth to William Pearson ^
My dear Sir, Rydal Mount, Sept- 30th, 1825.
My brother is much interested by your simple and
affecting report, concerning the character of Mr. Smith's
deceased wife, and desires me to say that he is not hope-
less of being able to throw off a few lines at some time
or other, in contemplating so interesting a character ; yet
he can by no means promise for himself. There are,
however, two points which you have omitted to name,
and which are essential in the composition of an epitaph
— namely, her age and the date of her decease ; there-
fore, be so good as to inform us of these particulars by
the next post after your receipt of this. The day of my
brother's departure is not fixed ; but I think it will not
be later than Thursday, and I very much wish to hear
from you before that time, as during his journey it is not
unlikely that his thoughts may take the turn which might
lead to the accomplishment of his and your wishes. . . .
I must not omit to tell you that we have read your jour-
nal with great pleasure. There are two or three passages
1 Many unpublished letters to William Pearson (i 780-1 856) from
William, Dorothy, Mary, and Dora Wordsworth are to be found in
the Memoirs of William Pearson by his widow, printed for private
distribution, in 1863, by Miss Emily Faithful. None of these, how-
ever, are of any public or permanent interest. — £d.
268 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
which throw light upon some imperfect recollections of
my own, which I shall, with your permission, take the
liberty to copy. . . .
Believe me, dear sir.
Yours respectfully,
D. Wordsworth, Sen.
CCCCXXI
William Wordsworth to A^ Watts
COLEORTON H LA-ZOUCHE,
OctObw
My dear Sir,
Messrs. Longman & Co. declining my pro^, n, offer
;£'ioo on publication, £<^o when an edition ot *. hun-
dred copies shall have been sold, and the printing ot five
hundred more to be optional on the same terms. This
I have declined ; but have proposed to allow them to print
an edition of five hundred copies, they paying me on
publication ;£"i5o, and placing twenty copies at my dis-
posal. Mr. Longman acknowledges that there is no
doubt of a thousand copies being ultimately sold, but he
says that the last edition of five hundred copies took five
years to go off. This is not quite accurate. The Fotms
and The Excursion were both ready for publication in the
autumn of 1820, and, if I am not grossly mistaken, they
cleared the expense of printing in less 'than a year ; and
in June, 1824, there were none of The Excursion on
hand, and only twenty-five copies of the Miscellaneous
Poems remaining. Mr. Longman says that six volumes
cannot be sold for less than ;^2-8.
I am desirous to hear something of your Souvenir,
I should be very insensible not to be wishful for its
TO ALARIC WATTS 269
success, and sincerely regret that the restrictions under
which I am, do not allow me to make an exception in its
behalf, without incurring a charge of disingenuousness.
I remain, my dear sir, very sincerely.
Your obliged friend and servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXXII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, near Kendal,
November 8th, 1825.
My dear Friend,
My original intention was to meet you with a note of
:ongratulation on your return to the lonesome chambers
n King's Bench walk; but I have just heard of poor
iiary Lamb's illness, and this is a matter of sincere con-
lolence. I write, then chiefly to inquire after her, and
ler brother, and next to plead for a continuation of your
oumal, the first part of which was duly received, and
ead by all of us with very great pleasure. It made me
Rrish to touch at those agreeable islands the next voyage
(ire take, if ever we are destined again to wander beyond
the shores of Britain. . . . My brother and sister, and
Miss Hutchinson, have been a month at Coleorton, and
it is from them that we at home have received the dis-
tressing tidings of Miss Lamb's illness, brought to them
by the Master of Trinity, who has also been at Coleor-
ton. Now, my good friend, I pray you write as soon as
you receive this. I hope you may be able to say that the
present attack is of the milder kind, as they have lately
been, and that she is in the way of recovery. Besides,
tell us particularly how Charles is himself. I learn that
270 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
the supposed cause of the sister's illness was his having
had a relapse after a nervous fever. Beyond this, at
present I require no more than to know that you are safe
and well, after a journey which I trust has been pleasant;
for you have the happy art of enjoying, wherever there is
a possibility of finding anything to enjoy. Leave all par-
ticulars, only do not retract your promise.
... I have stayed at home all summer, and have had
an agreeable lot, and the weather has been better than was
ever known, and I have had health and strength to allow
me to take long walks, which (especially upon the moun-
tains) are as delightful to my feelings as ever in my
younger days. My sister has been ten weeks absent She
accompanied Mrs. Thomas Hutchinson to Harrogate,
stayed some time there, and met her husband and sister
at Sir George Beaumont's.
Nothing is yet done towards the printing of the Poems
except a bargain made with Hurst and Robinson. Long-
man was at Rydal with his family; my brother made his pro-
posals to him, which he has no doubt would have been
cheerfully acceded to by him, but the firm could not agree
to them. Alaric Watts has been the agent with Hurst, etc.,
and they give all that the author required from the Long-
mans. I have always believed that they never pushed the
sale. If this belief be well founded, there can be no doubt
of my brother's being a gainer by the change. When he is
at home again, we shall be kept very busy for a while. A
new arrangement is to be made, and till the work is printed
he will always be attempting to correct faults. . . .
Two Miss Southeys are staying with us, so we are a
lively party.
Ever your affectionate friend,
D. Wordsworth.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 27 1
CCCCXXIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, near Kendal, Nov. 26th, 1825.
My dear Friend,
On telling my brother that I was going to write to you,
with a question, " Have you anything to say to him ? "
his reply was, "A hundred things. Tell him I wish I
was as strong as he, that I half envy him his joyous
spirits, that I should have liked to have gone with him
— or to go with him — to the Tyrol, to Italy, or any-
where " ; and he added many more of the hundred things
which I have forgotten, and your fancy must supply.
And now — setting aside wishes which, for at least two
or three years, cannot be gratified (college expenses and
others being so great) — I must tell you that your letter
has interested us very much, and I return you a thousand
thanks, not only for gratifying my wishes in the most
agreeable manner possible, but for even anticipating
them. I did not venture to expect the journal for weeks
to come, yet it arrives before my request reaches you ;
and, at the same time, your account of Charles and Mary
Lamb ^.Uays our anxiety, though till we hear from you
again we cannot be satisfied. Yet I hope he has had no
second relapse, and that she has been restored to herself
and her good brother at the accustomed period ; but, after
all that is passed, there must be a heavy struggle with
sadness and depression of spirits, before they are re-
instated in their usual comforts. Pray give our kindest
regards to them, and write, as soon as you have leisure,
to tell us exactly how they are going on ; and mention
also your poor sister, whether she still continues to suffer
272 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
less than is usual in her afflicting malady, and if you
think it will not give her pain to be reminded of those
times when I have seen her, or of one whom she will
never meet again in this world. Will you give my love
to her, and add that I frequently think of her ?
I know not that I have anything new to tell you. It
will be a fortnight on Thursday since my brother and
sister and Miss Hutchinson returned to Rydal Mount.
They spent above a month at Coleorton, and, with stops
on the road, were six weeks absent — that is, my brother
and Miss H. — but Mrs. W.*s absence had extended to
ten weeks and a half when she reached home, and truly
happy she was to settle herself again. My sister and
Miss H. travelled by coach, waited his arrival at Man-
chester, and stayed with him there two days, saw some
pleasant well-informed people, and one most beautiful
picture, for which seven thousand pounds had been
refused, — I forget the master's name, the subject is the
Holy Family, — the Virgin, they tell me, a striking like-
ness of Sara Coleridge. This picture belongs to a Man-
chester merchant, who had it from abroad in lieu of a bad
debt. Now, while I speak of Manchester, let me say a
word in favour of a friend of Dora's, a Miss Jewsbury,
who has written for the Souvenir^ and for several other
periodicals, under the signature of Miss J. J. She is a
young woman of extraordinary talents, is a good daughter,
and a good sister to a numerous family at the head of
which she was left, by the death of their mother, at the age
of fifteen. We became acquainted with Miss Jewsbury
last summer, and she spent above a week under our roof.
Mr. Alaric Watts has encouraged and persuaded Miss
Jewsbury to publish two volumes in prose and verse (mis-
cellaneous sketches, short essays, etc.), and there is one
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 273
pretty long tale (" The Unknown ") which is, to me,
affectingly told. The title of the volumes is Phantasma-
goria^ a title which would not be very taking to me were
the author a stranger. I mention it, however, in order
that if you have leisure you may glance your eye over the
book ; and, as you are sometimes a dabbler in reviews,
yrou may have an opportunity of serving the authoress, or
perhaps Charles Lamb could slip a notice into one of the
magazines. I cannot ask either of you to review the
volumes, though if you would do so, and could in con-
science speak favourably, it would be a great kindness
done to a deserving person, and gratefully received. I
think I told you that Hurst and Robinson are to publish
for my brother; but preliminaries are, I find, not yet
entirely settled, and our work is not begun. I much fear
that the printers will not get through in time for the
spring sale, and if so it is the loss of another year.
To return to your tour. Guernsey and Mont St. Michel
set me upon wishing, for it would neither be difficult
nor expensive to accomplish a circuit thereabouts if we
happen to be in the south of England. As to revisiting
those vales of the Alps where you have been tracking
our steps, it is so large a scheme, that now, in this time
of impossibility, I go no further than an exclamation, "If it
ever could be, how delightful I " We had just such bright
weather as you describe in your passage from Meyringen
to Grindelwald when we travelled the contrary way,
excepting a thundershower while we rested at the chilet,
and ate our dinner under the shed at the door opposite
the Wetterhom, alternately hidden and revealed by driv-
ing clouds and flashing sunbeams. You ask for an itin-
erary of our route from Frankfort to Lucerne. It was
Frankfort, Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Bruchsal, Karlsruhe,
274 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
Rastadt, Baden-Baden, Offenburg, Homberg (through a
beautiful valley), ascended from it through Black Forest
to Villingen, Donaueschingen (where is the source of the
Danube), Schaffhausen, Zurich, along the banks of the
Limmat to Baden, standing close to that river, Lenyberg,
Margenthal ^ (it was here we met with the two handsome
maidens who danced with poor Thomas Monkhouse),
Herzogenbuchsee (here we slept in our carriages), Bern,
Thun, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Mei-
ringen, Handek, back to Meiringen, over the Briinig to
Sarnen, Engelberg, back again next day to Stanz, re-
embarked at Stanzstad, crossed that part of the lake to
Vitznau, walked thence to Lucerne. I spell wretchedly;*
but a young friend of mine has begun to re-copy my jour-
nal, with omissions. In the way of abridging I can do little.
. . . For the fair copy I wish, before it is bound, to pro-
cure a set of Swiss costumes, and hope by your kindness
to be enabled to do so. Perhaps some friend of yours
may be going into Switzerland, or perhaps they may be
purchased in London at no very great expense. Should
the expense be moderate we should like two sets (one
for my sister's tour also), but as hers is already bound
it is of less consequence, because the prints could not
perhaps be inserted without injury to the binding.
.'. • . . . . .*
Remember the Hebrides, which you have not seen, and
we are in the way to or from Ireland. . . . God bless you.
Ever your affectionate friend,
D. Wordsworth.
1 This was possibly Marthalen. There is no clue to the mis-
spelled Lenyberg. — 'Ed.
^ The spelling of the names of places was bad, and the whole
course of the " itinerary " was mixed up confusedly from memory.
See thQ Journals of Dorothy Wordsworthy Vol.11, pp. 163-259. — Ed.
\
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 275
What would I not have given to have heard the ava-
lanches with you !
If the price of costumes in London is beyond what you
like to venture unauthorized, pray tell me what it is, and
I will say buy, or not buy. Should you be able to procure
the costumes by the middle of January a friend of mine
wUl bring the parcel. . . .
CCCCXXIV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Marshall
Rydal Mount, December 23d, [1825.]
•
. . . Have you heard the sad news of our intended dis-
missal from Rydal Mount ? * You will recollect my tell-
ing you that another year had been granted, though with
a warning that Mrs. Huddlestone might want the place.
This is thought little of as Mrs. H. said she neither
wished to leave Temple Sowerby nor to live here. But
through the Crackanthorps we heard that she really
intended to live at Rydal Mount. My brother took his
resolution immediately, and purchased a piece of land on
which to build a house. ... It is just below Rydal
Mount, between the chapel and Mr. Tillbrook's, com-
manding as fine a view as from our terrace. ... I tell
William (the Patterdale estate paying such poor interest
for the money it cost) if he could sell that, he might feel
himself not much poorer — considering the present rent
of Rydal Mount — than at present. It strikes me as
* See the poem, written in 1826, and entitled Composed when a
Probability existed of our being obliged to quit Rydal Mount as a Resi-
dence y Poetical Works, Eversley edition, Vol. VIII, p. 289. — Ed.
^
276 MARY WORDSWORTH
possible that Mr. Marshall might buy this little estate,
as lying near his property in Patterdale. I am sure my
brother would be willing to sell it Still, however, we
have a hope that we may be allowed to stay where we
are, that Mrs. H. (who we know, must have unwillingly
yielded to importunity in giving her consent) may change
her mind, or that something may happen to prevent her
coming. We think that in such case Lady Fleming can-
not be so cruel as to turn us away ; besides — even if she |
has a particular dislike to us as tenants — it would not
be less disagreeable to have us as neighbours in a house
of our own, so close to her chapel and her hall. . . .
Do not forget my message to Mr. Marshall. It would
indeed be a relief to my mind, if (in case my brother
does build) that property were sold to meet the expense.
CCCCXXV
Maty Wordsworth to Alaric Watts
Rydal Mount, December 27, 1825.
Dear Sir,
From your continued silence, we cannot but be appre-
hensive that some demur, which is causing you trouble
on the part of Messrs. Hurst and Robinson, has taken
place. At the same time Mr. Wordsworth feels it his
duty to request that he may be informed how the matter
stands, it being both disagreeable and very inconvenient
to remain in this state of uncertainty. I feel the more
sorry thus to trouble you, having heard through Miss
Jewsbury how very much you had been harassed ; and
nothing short of the peculiar injury which this delay
occasions to Mr. W., giving him time to exhaust himself
TO ALARIC WATTS 277
by attempting needless corrections, at least what we pre-
sume to consider such, could justify my having expressed
myself so strongly.
I need not tell you how much the enjoyment of the
very pleasant day we passed with Mrs. Watts would have
been heightened had we been so fortunate as to have
found you at home.
I remain, dear sir, with high respect,
Your obliged servant,
M. Wordsworth.
278 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
1826
CCCCXXVI
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown}
Rydal Mount, 17th January, 1826.
My dear Sir,
I reply to your letter instantly, because I am able to
decide upon general grounds, long ago established in my
mind. But first let me thank you for addressing yourself
directly to me. This procedure adds to the esteem which
I have always entertained for you. My answer must be
unfavourable to your wishes, as it would be to those of
any one similarly circumstanced. The opinion, or rather
judgment, of my daughter must have been little influenced
by what she has been in the habit of hearing from me
since her childhood, if she could see the matter in a dif- p
ferent light. I therefore beg that the same reserve and
delicacy which have done you so much honor may be pre-
served; that she may not be called to think upon the
subject, and I cannot but express the hope that you will
let it pass away from your mind.
Thus far I have been altogether serious, as the case
required. I cannot conclude without a word or two in a
lighter tone. If you have thoughts of marrying, do look
out for some lady with a sufficient fortune for both of
you. What I say to you now, I would recommend \.^
^ It may have been a member of the Cookson family, or one of the
Monkhouses. — Ed.
TO CORRESPONDENT UNKNOWN 279
every naval officer and clergyman, who is without pros-
pect of professional advancement. Ladies of some for-
tune are as easily won as those without, and for the most
part as deserving. Check the first liking to those who
have nothing.
Your letter will not be mentioned. I have a wretched
pen and cannot procure a better, or I should be tempted
to add a few words upon Rydal topics ; but I must con-
tent myself with adding my sincere and ardent wishes for
your health and happiness. I remain,
Very faithfully your friend and cousin,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXXVII
William Wordsworth to Alaric Watts
January 23, 1826.
My dear Sir,
Accept my cordial thanks for the care you have taken
of my interests, and the prudent precautions your good
sense and regard for me have led you to employ. Be
assured that I never imputed remissness or negligence to
you, and I cannot but admire the delicacy of your reserve
in regard to persons of whose insolvency you had no
proof. Truly do I S3anpathise with your probable losses
upon this occasion. I will not detain you longer than to
express a hope that the day may arrive when I shall be
able to show, by something more substantial than words,
in what degree
I am your sincere and obliged friend,
Wm. Wordsworth.
P.S. — Pray give our best regards to Mrs. Watts.
I
28o DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
CCCCXXVIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Brinsop Court, near Hereford,
Feb. 25th, 1826.
My dear Friend,
I hope you have not set me down as an ungrateful one
for not having sooner thanked you for your interesting
letter, and Mrs. Collier for her great kindness in sparing
to me the valuable Memorials of her Tour, which — in
course of time — would, I think, become more valuable
for the cause which in some degree seems to reconcile
you to accepting them for me ; namely, that to her they
are now become melancholy memorials. The assurance
that, if her life be prolonged, she will hereafter cling with
especial delight to the memory of those few weeks which
cheered her declining husband's spirits, makes me unwill-
ing to deprive her of anything that might assist her recol-
lections ; and, if you feel as I do, pray do not accept her
gift, but return it to her with a thousand thanks from me.
I recollect Mrs. Collier, and her hospitable kindness,
when she lived in Hatton Gardens. I once dined there
with you, at that time when I had travelled with you upon
the coach from Bury. Perhaps this circumstance may
help her to recollect something about me.
My young friend gets on slowly with the journal,
therefore the prints will not be wanted for a long time ;
however, I will attend to your advice, and have it bound
with blank leaves, so as to receive whatever prints I may
be so fortunate as to pick up. You all perhaps blame
me for having taken so little pains in curtailing it I
have done no more than cut out passages (sometimes
pretty long ones) in giving it a hasty reading over.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 28 1
It is time that I should explain the date of this letter.
Here I arrived yesterday week, having parted from my
brother and his daughter at Kendal just ten days before.
I halted a few days at Manchester with Miss Jewsbury,
the authoress of Phantasmagoria^ etc., and was even more
pleased with her at home than abroad. Her talents are
extraordinary; she is admirable as a daughter and sis-
ter, and has besides many valuable friends, to some of
whom I was introduced. From Manchester I came by
way of Worcester, and the delightful hills of Malvern,
to Hereford, where I was met by Mrs. Wordsworth's sis-
ter. Brinsop Court is six miles from Hereford, the coun-
try rich and climate good, far less rain than we have in
(Vestmorland ; but, as I have always said, our compensa-
dons do much more than make amends; our dry roads,
Birhere — after the heaviest shower — one can walk with
:omfort, and above all our mountains and lakes, which
ire just as beautiful, just as interesting in winter as in
>ummer. Brinsop Court is, however, even now no cheer-
ess spot, and flowers in the hedges and blossoms in the
lumerous orchards will soon make it gay. Our fireside
s enlivened by four fine well-managed children, and
:heerf ul friends ; and Mrs. Hutchinson is one of the most
^leasing and excellent of women, the sister of our good
xiend, Thomas Monkhouse. . . . My brother's poems
ire quite ready for the press, but no arrangements can
>e made till it is known whether Hurst and Robinson
Rrill go on, or not ; and even should they promise fair, I
iardly think it would be safe to conclude the bargain till
the mercantile and bookselling world is a little more set-
tled. My brother hitherto has been most fortunate.
While people are suffering losses on all sides, he has
wholly escaped; and with respect to the poems he was
282 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
particularly fortunate, for just before Hurst and Robin-
son stopped payment he had sent his first volume to Mr.
Alaric Watts to be forwarded to them, and he (Mr. Watts)
had the prudence to keep it back, having reason to sup-
pose the house was tottering.
If you should write to me before all the money alarms
are settled (and I hope you will, for there is no reason
to expect a speedy settlement), pray tell me what you
think of the Columbian bonds*. Here we see no news-
papers but the Hereford Joumaly and cannot form a notion
of probabilities ; only I am sorry to tell you that one of
Mrs. Wordsworth's sisters has had the imprudence to
invest the greatest part of her property in the Columbians
when at 90. We have this day heard that the dividends
cannot be paid, while at the same time the price of bonds
is so low that she cannot possibly think of selling out.
Much as we hear of losses and bankruptcies^ I am more
grieved for my kind friend, "Joanna, that wild-hearted
maid," than for any one else whom I know. . . .
No, I cannot add the sequel of poor Graham's story to
my journal. It is enough for me that the knowledge of it
sullies my remembrances of our bewitching voyage on the
Lake of Lucerne, when the hills were wrapped in green
soft gloomy light, without shadows, and again the sun
burst forth in all its brilliancy. But you had more to
tell, and pray let me have it. The story interested us all
very much ; and indeed we had expected nothing good
from him.
I shall remain in Herefordshire till May if nothing
unforeseen happens. My brother talks of meeting me
in North Wales, and going with me to the top of Snow-
don ; but I do not much depend on his being able to
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 283
leave home. At all events, the time of his coming will
be governed by the time of the general election. If it be
put off till autumn, it will probably be the end of May or
banning of June before he can come. That is the time
when you lawyers are busiest, I believe, otherwise you
might be tempted to join us ; I should be no less glad of
your support on Snowdon than on St. Salvador. Adieu.
Yours truly,
D. Wordsworth.
CCCCXXIX
William Wordsworth to William Pearson
Rydal Mount, Monday,
(Postmark, March 6, 1826.) -
My dear Sir,
If I am not mistaken, I lent you some time ago a copy
of my little tract upon the Lakes, which contains a cor-
rected copy of a sonnet upon " Long Meg and her Daugh-
ters." These alterations I want for the new edition of
my poems. I should be glad if you would be kind
enough to copy them for me, and send them.
Ever most sincerely yours,
W. Wordsworth.
ccccxxx
Dorothy Wordsworth to William Pearson
My dear Sir,
I am exceedingly obliged to you for the book, and
happy to say I was not the least the worse for our walk
to the top of Fairfield, which has left behind some
284 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
pleasant remembrances. We will read Lockhart's Lift
of Bums before next Tuesday, when we shall be very
happy to see you.
William returns a thousand thanks for your kindness
in sending over the dog. He had intended despatching
a boy for it to-morrow morning.
In haste, believe me, truly yours,
D. Wordsworth.
I shall be very glad before the summer and autumn
are gone by to have another mountain walk with you.
CCCCXXXI
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, 6th April, 1826.
My dear Friend,
My sister had taken flight for Herefordshire when
your letter, for such we guessed it to be, arrived. It
was broken open (pray forgive the offence) and all your
charges of concealment and reserve frustrated. We are
all, at all times, so glad to hear from you that we could
not resist the temptation to purchase the pleasure at the
expense of the peccadillo, for which we beg pardon with
united voices.
You are kind enough to mention my poems. Miscella-
neous poems ought not to be jumbled together at ran-
dom. Were this done with mine the passage from one to
another would often be insupportably offensive ; but in
my judgment the only thing of much importance in ar-
rangement is that one poem should shade off. happily
into another, and the contrasts where they occur be
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 285
clear of all harshness or abruptness. I differ from you
and Lamb as to the classification of imagination, etc. It
is of slight importance as matter of reflection, but great
as matter of feeling^ for the reader, by making one poem
smooth the way for another. If this be not attended to,
classification by subject, or by form, is of no value ; for
nothing can compensate for the neglect of it When I
have the pleasure of seeing you we will take this matter
up, as a question of literary curiosity. Your supposed
biography entertained me much. I could give you the
other side. Farewell.
W. W.
CCCCXXXII
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
April, 1826.
There is no material change in the classification,
except that the Scotch poems have been placed all
together, under the title of " Memorials of Tours in Scot-
land" ; this has made a gap in the " Poems of Imagination *'
which has been supplied by Laodamia^ Ruth, and one or
two more, from the class of those on " The Affections."
CCCCXXXIII
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, April 27th, 1826.
My dear Friend,
I employ Mrs. W.'s pen for your advantage and to spare
my own eyes, which are plagued with irritability. With-
out wasting time upon thanks, I will proceed to business.
286 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
It was very unlucky that you did not see Mr. Watts, as
he could have told you everything. He negotiated for
me last autumn with H. and R. ; the terms, they to print
one thousand copies bearing every expense, and allowing
me twenty-five copies for my personal friends, and twenty-
five more Mr. W. stipulated for, to be sent at his direction
— or mine, if I chose to interfere — to such literary persons
as might be thought likely to favour the sale of the work.
The edition to be* five volumes, including The Excursion.
The sum of ;£'i5o to be paid on delivery of the copy
to them, and £\^o more when the work was ready for
publication.
With these terms I was satisfied. But before the work
was prepared Mr. W. had reason to suspect that all was
not well with the firm, and prudently kept back, — with
great delicacy, by the bye, — exposing himself to some
censure with me for procrastination, rather than incurring
the risk of injuring those whom he then only suspected.
In consequence, I stand wholly disengaged. I left Long-
man because the terms were very disadvantageous to me,
viz., they incurring all the risk, — which has been proved
to me to be nothing, — and I having one half the profits,
divided by themselves when they had paid themselves. I
proposed other terms, which they could not accede to, nor
I to the new ones proposed by them. So we parted ami-
cably. I looked about for a more liberal and a more
active publisher. Rogers concluded with Murray a verbal
agreement subject to my approval, two thirds of the profit to
be mine, I taking two thirds of the risk and expense. Before
/closed, I wrote to inquire of Murray what that expense
would amount to. Three months more elapsed without
an answer, upon which I took leave of him. Observe
this was before Mr. W. kindly undertook the business.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 287
He has had a great deal of experience, and totally disap-
proves of my taking any part of the expense ; and I had
found myself, that after the several editions had paid the
expenses, — which was done in a great measure, or en-
tirely, by a flush of sale on their first appearance, — my
moiety of the profits was almost eaten away by subse-
quent advertising. The Excursion has been nearly three
years out of print, and the four volumes about a year and
a half ; they have been, as I know from several quarters,
a good deal inquired after, so that an active publisher would
have a probability of being speedily reimbursed. I know
that the trade is depressed, and perhaps I ought not to
expect quite so much as £z^o\ but I stickle for that sum
as at the best but a poor repayment for the trouble I have
been at in revising the old, and adding several new poems,
which, though individually of no great moment, amount;
on a rude guess to eight hundred or a thousand verses.
Besides, I have a private reason for straining for that
sum. Upon the strength of the engagement with R.
and H. I was emboldened to give, for a field contiguous
to my present abode, more than three times its value, for
the sake of building upon it, if I thought proper. This
scrap of land the pastoral Jew of whom I bought it, as if
he had known of my expectation, would not yield up to
me for less than £z^^ precisely.
I have now done, and thank you again for your kind
offer. As you say that Mr. Watts has actually left town,
I still look for a letter from him daily ; he was charged
to commence printing the first volume immediately, if
necessary, in case he was successful in bargaining in
some quarter. I ought to have said that the last edition
amounted only to five hundred copies. Knowing how I
am at present circumstanced, you can do nothing but
288 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
make a trial where you think there is any chance of suc-
cess, till we hear further from Mr. Watts. As to what
you say about the negotiation being in better hands than
your own, I ascribe it only to a degree of modesty rare
in all men of these days, and singularly rare in men of
your profession and of mine.
One word on the subject of arrangement. Lamb's order
of time is the very worst that could be followed except
where determined by the course of public events ; or, if
the subject be merely personal, in the case of juvenile
poems, or those of advanced age. For example, I place
the Ode to Enterprise among the " Poems on Imagination/'
which class concludes with Tintern Abbey^ as being more
admired than any other. According to my present arrange-
ment the Ode to Enterprise immediately precedes it ; but
this is objectionable. The author cannot be supposed to
be more than between six or eight and twenty when Tintem
was written, and he must be taken for about fifty when he
produced the other : so that it would perhaps be better
placed elsewhere. I should like to talk this matter over
with you, for the sake of the general principle, as affecting
all the arts, in individual composition.
Do not go on to the Continent. You may carve out a
much more interesting tour by taking the best part of
North Wales, — and our glorious country ! — on your way
to Ireland ; and return from the north having seen the
Giant's Causeway, by Staffa and lona, etc., to us. I am
very disinterested in recommending this wide excursion,
as it will allow you less time for us. But the steam-
boats make it irresistibly tempting, and few things would
give me greater pleasure than being your companion,
along with my sister, who is as keen of travelling as ever.
Your account of your own sister is very melancholy, and
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 289
we truly sympathise with you ; but let us bear in mind
that, to the really pious, no affliction comes amiss. A
religion like hers is worth all the other knowledge in the
world a thousand times told. As to Italy, it seems to fly
horn, me and mine, as it did from ^neas and his com-
panions of old ; if it can be effected we shall be right
happy in your company. I say nothing of building, as
not yet entered upon. Farewell. Mrs. Wordsworth joins
in kindest regards. As soon as I hear from Mr. Watts I
shall write again.
Affectionately and faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
P.S. — Very glad to have good news of the Lambs.
Our best love to them.
CCCCXXXIV
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
May, 1826.
My dear Friend,
I have just received your third letter; your second
would have been answered long ago, but I have been
waiting in vain for a reply to a couple addressed to
Mr. Watts.
The first question is —
Are Robinson and Hurst likely to go forward again so
as to make it expedient to recommence a negotiation with
them? . . .
Try for an interview with Mr. Watts ; he is master of
all particulars, as the materials of the volumes, proposed
mode of printing, etc. I will, however, mention that the
290 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
intended edition will make the eighth from the first in one
volume ; the number of copies has varied from a thousand
to seven hundred and five hundred. The last, published
in the autumn of 1820, was five hundred, paid its expenses
instantly, but was not exhausted till 1824. The prose book
on the Lakes is not intended to be included, the volumes
will be bulky enough without it.
I know not what more need be added. Mr. Watts has
the first volume in his possession, corrected to go to press
immediately ; the rest are prepared also.
Truly am I sorry to give him, and you, and my other
friends so much trouble.
The poems, The Excursion in particular, have been far
too long out of print ; Rogers' opinion is characterised by
his usual good sense.
Mrs. Wordsworth's brother, who has conducted a bank
for nearly forty-five years, with the highest confidence on
the part of the public, has become a bankrupt through mis-
fortune, the perfidy of a partner, and overconfidence in
unworthy persons. Miss Hutchinson has not suffered, nor
Mrs. Wordsworth, but some part of the family have ; in
particular the late T. Monkhouse's estate would have
suffered but for the overliberality of his high-minded
brother, who means to bear the loss himself. This you
will the more admire if you bear in mind that T. M.'s
intentions towards him were frustrated by the informality
of his will, made unluckily by himself. The widow is off
to the Continent. If I do not build, I will strain a point
to accompany you into Ireland.
Ever most faithfully,
W. W.
TO ALARIC WATTS 291
ccccxxxv
William Wordsworth to Alaric Watts
LowTHER Castle, June 18, 1826.
My dear Sir,
... I will with pleasure speak to Mr. De Quincey of
your wish to have him among the contributors to your
Souvenir ; but, whatever hopes he may hold out, do not
be tempted to depend upon him. He is strangely irreso-
lute. A son of Mr* Coleridge lives in the neighbour-
hood of Ambleside, and is a very able writer; but he
also, like most men of genius, is little to be depended
upon. Your having taken the Souvenir into your own
hands makes me still more regret that the general rule I
have laid down precludes my endeavouring to render you
any service in that way. . . .
I remain, my dear sir,
Your much obliged friend,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXXXVI
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
[Written by his daughter Dora]
August, 1826.
From Llanberis mount Snowdon, and descend to Dol-
barden Inn in the Vale of Llanberis, and by the lake to
the romantic village of Cwm y Glo, whence to Carnar-
von, Bangor, and Holyhead for Ireland ; this will have
shown you most of the finest things in North and South
292 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Wales ; but observe — with the exception of Conway
Castle, a most magnificent thing — the whole line of the
great road to Ireland from Llangollen, including Capel
Curig to Bangor, would leave your knowledge of North
Wales very imperfect. But this might easily be taken at
some future time, when you come into the north of Ireland,
by coaching through Llangollen to Bangor, thence walk-
ing to Conway, and so on by Abergele to Rhyl, from
within two miles of which place is a daily steamboat to
Liverpool, as there is one also from Bangor to Liverpool,
a most delightful voyage of eight or nine hours. Of Ire-
land I can say nothing but that everybody sees Killamey.
There are some fine ruins of monasteries, etc., not far
from Limerick, The Vale of the Dargle and the Wick-
low Mountains would be in your way from Killamey to
Dublin. Supposing you to start from Dublin, you would
go by Limerick, and return by the Wicklow country ; but
to one who should leave Wales out, the best way of see-
ing Ireland from London would be to go from London to
Bristol, and thence to Cork, Killamey, Dublin, and the
Giant's Causeway. From Belfast there will no doubt be
a steamboat to Glasgow, and so on by steam to lona and
Staffa, and as much of the west of Scotland as you could
conveniently see, returning by Westmorland.
I have given up all hopes of succeeding in a bargain
for my poems; so they may rest. Poor Southey has
lately lost his youngest daughter, a delightful creature of
fourteen. Farewell. Believe me, with love from this
household,
Your faithful friend,
Wm. Wordsworth.
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 293
CCCCXXXVII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Thomas De Quincey
Rydal Mount,
Thursday, i6th November, [Postmark, 1826.]
My dear Sir,
A letter of good tidings respecting Mrs. De Quincey
and your family cannot, I am sure, be unwelcome ; and
besides, she assures me that you will be glad to hear of
my safe return to Rydal after a nine months' absence.' I
called at your cottage yesterday, having first seen your
son William at the head of the school-boys ; as it might
seem a leader of their noontide games, and Horace
among the tribe ; both as healthy-looking as the best,
and William very much grown. Margaret was in the
kitchen preparing to follow her brothers to school, and I
was pleased to see her also looking stout and well, and
much grown. Mrs. De Quincey was seated by the fire
above stairs, with her baby on her knee. She rose and
received me cheerfully, as a person in perfect health, and
does indeed seem to have had an extraordinary recovery ;
and as little suffering as could be expected. The babe
looks as if it would thrive, and is what we call a nice
child, neither big nor little.
Mrs. De Quincey seemed on the whole in very good
spirits ; but, with something of sadness in her manner,
she told me you were not likely to be very soon at home.
She then said that you had at present some literary em-
ployments at Ekiinburgh ; and had, besides, had an offer
(or something to this effect) of a permanent engagement,
the nature of which she did not know ; but that you hesi-
tated about accepting it, as it might necessitate you to
294 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
settle in Edinburgh. To this I replied, " Why not settle
there for the time at least that this engagement lasts?
Lodgings are cheap at Ekiinburgh, and provisions and
coals not dear. Of these facts I had some weeks' expe-
rience four years ago." I then added that it was my firm
opinion that you could never regularly keep up to your
engagements at a distance from the press ; and, said I,
"Pray tell him so when you write." She replied, "Do
write yourself." Now I could not refuse to give her
pleasure by so doing, especially being assured that my
letter would not be wholly worthless to you, having such
agreeable news to send of your family. The little cottage
and everything seemed comfortable.
I do not presume to take the liberty of advising the
acceptance of this engagement, or of that ; only I would
venture to request you to consider well the many impedi-
ments to literary employments to be regularly carried on
in limited time, at a distance from the press, in a small
house, and in perfect solitude. You must well know that
it is a true and faithful concern for your interests, and
those of your family, that prompts me to call your atten-
tion to this point ; and, if you think that I am mistaken,
you will not, I am sure, take it ill that I have thus freely
expressed my opinion.
It gave me great pleasure to hear of your good health
and spirits, and you, I am sure, will.be glad to have good
accounts of all our family except poor Dora, who has been
very ill indeed — dangerously ill; but now, thank God,
she is gaining ground, I hope daily. Her extreme illness
was during my absence, and I was therefore spared great
anxiety, for I did not know of it till she was convalescent
I was, however, greatly shocked by her sickly looks.
Whenever weather permits she rides on horseback. My
TO THOMAS DE QUINCEY 295
brother's eyes are literally quite well. This surely is as
great a blessing, and I hope we are sufficiently thankful
for it. He reads aloud to us by candlelight, and uses
the pen for himself.
I cannot express how happy I am to find myself at
home again after so long an absence, though my time has
passed very agreeably, and my health been excellent. I
have had many very long walks since my return, and am
more than ever charmed with our rocks and mountains.
Rich autumnal tints, with an intermixture of green ones,
still linger on the trees.
Make my respects to Mr. and Mrs. and Miss Wilson,
and believe me, my dear sir.
Yours affectionately,
D. Wordsworth.
One 6* dock Thursday, — I have been at Grasmere, and
again seen your wife. She desires me to say that she is
particularly anxious to hear from you on her father's
account. The newspaper continues to come directed to
my brother, though before Dr. Stoddart left England my
brother wrote to request that it might not. The new
editors no doubt have wished to continue the connection
with you ; but we think that it would be much better that
Mrs. De Quincey should write to order it not to be sent,
at least until your return to Grasmere, especially as at
present you are not likely to contribute anything to the
paper. She agrees with me in thinking it right so to do ;
and will write to the editor, unless you order to the con-
trary. Perhaps you will write yourself.
296 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCCXXXVIII
William Wordsworth to T. Taylor
Rydal Mount, 22d November, 1826.
My dear Sir,
... It gave me much concern to hear from Sir George
Beaumont how ill you had been used. It is some conso-
lation, however, when one supposed friend has betrayed
you to find that he has created an opportunity for so
many true ones to give proof of their good wishes. I
shall be glad and proud to have my name enrolled in this
list, upon the present occasion. . . . My volumes have
long been out of print, but I believe a few copies of the
quarto edition of The Excursion are in Mr. Longman's
hands, and it is my wish to present you with one. . . .
I had the pleasure of seeing much of our common friend
Sir George Beaumont, who, along with Mr. Rogers, was
down here last summer. He was wonderfully well, and
enjoyed his old haunts with a freshness most enviable. . . .
Very faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXXXIX
William Wordsworth to Edward Moxon
[Postmark, Dec. 8, 1826.]
Dear Sir,
It is some time since I received your little volume, for
which I now return you my thanks, and also for the
obliging letter that accompanied it.
Your poem I have read with no inconsiderable pleas-
ure ; it is full of natural sentiments and pleasing pictures.
TO EDWARD MOXON 297
Among the minor pieces, the last pleased me much the
best, and especially the latter part of it. This little vol-
ume, with what I saw of yourself during a short interview,
interest me in your welfare ; and the more so, as I always
feel some apprehension for the destiny of those who in
youth addict themselves to the composition of verse. It
is a very seducing employment, and, though begun in dis-
interested love of the Muses, is too apt to connect itself
with self-love, and the disquieting passions which follow
in the train of that, our natural infirmity. Fix your eye
upon acquiring independence by honourable business,
and let the Muses come after, rather than go before. . . .
Excuse this freedom; and believe me, my dear sir,
very faithfully,
Your obliged servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXL
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, December i8th, 1826.
My dear Friend,
I have little to say but thanks for your lively and very
interesting sketch of your Irish tour. My brother is
much pleased with it, and you will not doubt (knowing
my delight in travelling) that the dreary tracts you some-
times passed through did not deter me from a wish, at
some period, to visit the Giant's Causeway and the Devil's
Haunts, the soft lakes of Killarney, the towers, the ruins,
etc. I enter entirely into your notions of Dublin, in
comparison with Edinburgh ; and can even sympathise
with your pleasure in O'ConnelPs society, and think ^^«r
298 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
loss was gain in travelling by the wrong road, thereby
securing an eight hours' discussion with that champion
of the Papists, and of liberty, you will say. Well, let
that pass. I will not inquire after the treason you talked ;
nor, if you should in an unguarded moment let it out, will
I inform against you ; and if ever we should go to Ireland
I should like very well to be introduced to the domain of
Derrynane,^ and have no horror, even of the mansion and
the priest, under the sanction of your guidance and my
brother's protection. But Ireland, and even North Wales,
do not make any part of my present travelling wishes;
nor have I any that can be absolutely termed hopes^ for
my dear niece's long-delayed recovery keeps us still
anxious and watchful. Not that we apprehend danger if
proper means be used, but it seems nearly certain that
change of air and scene will be required, as soon as
weather will permit in the spring, and this conviction pre-
vents us from looking at or contriving anything discon-
nected with her state of health. She talks with glee of
Italy ; but such a journey could not be accomplished with-
out strength to begin with, and a salutary change for her
may be procured at much less expense. Most likely she
will be taken into Somersetshire with her mother. . . .
She is very much better within the last three weeks, and
rides on horseback whenever we have a fine day.
• •* . • . • • .•
We expect John from Oxford this week. He was to
take his degree to-day ; wrote in good spirits after passing
the examination, and the same post brought a satisfactory
letter from his tutor, lamenting his illness in the summer
— and consequent inability to study — having prevented
1 0*Conneirs home at the foot of Kenmare River in County
Kerry. — Ed.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 299
him from going up for honours, which, "from the man-
ner he passed the examination,'' he had ''no doubt he
would have attained."
What do you say to the war? It seems there never
was one which so few voices were raised against. I am
afraid of the French proving false, — that is, of their seek-
ing occasion to quarrel with us, — and if we once begin
to fight with them again, farewell to peace.
When you see Charles and Mary Lamb, give our kind-
est regards to them. I wish they would now and then
let us see their handwriting ; a single page from Charles
Lamb is worth ten postages. However, it is well to hear
good tidings, and we have no right to complain of their
silence. Your assurance that they were well, and in good
spirits, gave us great satisfaction.
My brother does really intend, by the same lady who
conveys this to London, to write to Longman respecting
the publishing of his poems. I heartily wish that an
agreement, and speedy printing, may follow. He has
lately written some very good sonnets. I wish that I
could add that The Recluse was brought from his hiding-
place. Your grateful and affectionate friend,
D. Wordsworth.
Have you chanced to see Miss Coleridge? She is in
London. The Southeys are well. Mrs. Coleridge is in
sad spirits about her son Hartley. He has been on his
wanderings nearly a month. Derwent has a curacy in
Cornwall ; report speaks well of his performances in the
pulpit.
300 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
1827
CCCCXLI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, 6th January, 1827.
My dear Friend,
. . . You once met, at Southey's, a Mr. Kenyon ; and,
having met, I think cannot have forgotten him. Oh, no !
that you cannot; for it has just come into my recollectioii
that he dined with us in Gloucester Place in 1820 when
the wedding cake was cut, — a sort of Christmas feast
before its time, — when poor Thomas Monkhouse, Charles
Lamb, my brother, and you made a company of sleepers
after dinner. Was he, or was he not, there ? When I
began this notice I surely thought he was ; but my sister,
who sits beside me, says not, and now I begin to doubt
Well, this same Mr. Kenyon has written to my sister for
the family interest, and I will, as the easiest mode of
explaining, quote from his own letter: "The fact is, I am
desirous (I will not say anxious, the word would be unduly
strong) to be a member of the Athenaeum Club, and am
to be balloted for on Monday the 5th of February. On
looking over the list of members I see some names of
your friends, amongst them that of H. C. Robinson, your
travelling companion, and Allan Cunningham. If these
gentlemen are likely to be in London at that time, per-
haps I might be allowed to ask your interest with them
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 30 1
to give me their votes, and their interest, on this occasion.
You may venture to represent me as a man who will not
steal the silver spoons, who does not wear creaking
shoes, and as a good listener, etc." He adds, " Sir
Qeorge Beaumont and Rogers, I see, both belong to the
club ; but these are old men not to be teased to think of
trifles, or to go out on a February evening."
• ••••••.••
I was happy to hear of Tom Clarkson being in perfect
health, with increasing business ; and why does not the
marriage take place ? Thus people wait till " All the life
of life is gone."
I have some good tidings for you of my brother. . . .
Longman has agreed to his terms, and the poems are to
go to press immediately, and proceed with all possible
speed.
The weather is now as wintry as it can be. Ponds are
all frozen and thronged with skaters and sliders ; the
Lakes not yet frozen, strong winds have prevented this.
My brother is Christmassing at Sedbergh with his son
John at his (John's) old schoolmaster's. We expect them
home again on Monday.
I have to-day received a letter from my nephew John *
(of Cambridge). He says: "You will be pleased to hear
that my father is gradually gaining ground, in spite of the
^troubles and anxieties of his Vice- Chancellorship. The
improvement in his appearance, however, has not kept pace
with that of his strength, and any person who should judge
of him by his looks would not form a just estimate of his
progress. His face is thin and wrinkled, and he says of
himself, *I can count all my bones'; but his spirits are
1 Son of the Master of Trinity. — Ed.
302 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
good, and, I think, his strength fully re-established, and
he takes great pains to convince himself and others that
the state of thinness is favourable to health." I suppose
you know that this good brother of mine was dangerously
ill in the summer.
Believe me, ever your affectionate friend,
D. Wordsworth.
CCCCXLII
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
29th January, 1827.
My dear Friend,
. . . My poems have, for this month past, been printing
with the Longmans upon the same terms as agreed upon
with M. With this latter my dealings have been as fol-
lows : Rogers, after waiting for a half a year, came to
the preliminaries of an arrangement, that M. should pub-
lish for one third of the profits, meeting one third of the
expense. Upon this I wrote to know what the expense
would be, and waited a long time, many months, with-
out getting an answer. I then wrote to M. that, not
hearing from him, I felt myself at liberty to enter into
a treaty elsewhere. Accordingly I did so with Hurst, etc.
Their failing last year stopped this, and something more
than two months since I wrote to M. offering him the
work upon the old terms and begging an immediate
answer, which, I told him, if I did not receive, I should
regard his silence as evidence that the engagement did
not suit him. I waited about a month, and receiving no
answer wrote to Longmans, and then went to press imme-
diately upon the terms mentioned.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 303
You see, then, I can have little to say to M. It is
remarkable that by the same post as brought your letter
I had one from Colonel Pasley, in which he had occa-
sion to speak of M.'s inattention as a publisher, and his
displeasing manners, so that he broke with him; for my
own part, upon the whole, I am as well pleased that the
book should be where it is, for M. and I, I am persuaded,
could never agree. So that you will treat the matter with
him as you think proper; only it is fit I should say I
have no wish but to be civil and upon friendly terms with
him. I have revised the poems carefully, particularly
The Excursion^ and I trust with considerable improve-
ment ; but you will judge.
The deaths you mention among your friends gave me
much concern. Flaxman's I had heard of through the
public papers, A. Robinson's not till you named it.
Thanks for your exertions on behalf of our amiable friend
Kenyon; we have procured him several votes, and I
would have got many more, but my parliamentary and
fashionable friends are almost all out of town.
CCCCXLIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
29th January, 1827.
My dear Friend,
My brother has given me this most elegant epistle of
his to fold up and finish. I have little to say but to
confirm his account of poor Dora. My brother's heart
would be as much fixed as ever upon Italy, were not
anxiety kept almost constantly alive. It is our decided
opinion that she ought not to pass the next winter here,
and all schemes must give way to her benefit.
304 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
My brother wishes his son John's name to be put
down as a candidate for membership of the University
Club. He has taken his Bachelor's degree, and is of
New College. Perhaps you may have in town some Uni-
versity friend, a member of the club, whom you can
oblige my brother by asking to do this service. . . . You
do not mention Charles Lamb and his sister; I trust
they continue not worse than when he wrote to me a
most pleasant letter. Miss Lamb was then quite well,
but he was sadly afflicted with the cramp. The detail
of his sufferings was mixed with so much drollery that
it was impossible not to laugh, though we were and are
heartily sorry that he should have such torments to
endure. His connection with the British Museum is the
best thing possible, supplying every need that his with-
drawing from the India House caused him to feel. Pray
return him, for all of us, a thousand thanks for his letter,
with our love to him and his sister. My sister, Miss
Hutchinson, Dora, and Willy join with me in best wishes.
Ever your affectionate and much obliged friend,
D. Wordsworth.
CCCCXLIV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
1 8th February, 1827.
My dear Friend,
A frank tempts me to slip in our united thanks for
your zeal in the cause of our friend, Mr. Kenyon. I
assure you, as the French say, it has not been bestowed
upon an ingrate, as you will yourself perceive if ever you
meet him at the club. He will then, I am sure, be glad
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 305
to hold discourse with you, and to tell you how much he
has been pleased by your kindness and that of others of
our friends. It does indeed appear that he came in with
a "high hand."
My brother is much obliged to you, and to your friend,
Mr. Rolfe, for getting John's name put on the University
Club's boards, and will be further obliged if you will
place him on those of the Athenaeum. It may be useful,
and can do no harm.
He is now at Oxford studying divinity, and we hope
the result will be a steady determination to apply himself
to the duties of a minister of our church.
The printing of the poems goes on rapidly. My
brother inserts your note (I believe without any altera-
tion), only, perhaps, something may be added to it; and,
besides, one or two extracts will, I think, be inserted
from our journals as notes to some other poems. ... A
heavy snow is now on the ground, and still falling. We
hope a thaw will follow. Nothing can exceed the purity
of the scene now before my eyes. How different to you
in London, if the same snow is falling on the streets and
houses!
The death of Sir George Beaumont is a great affliction
to us, and was also a severe shock ; for when he was at
Rydal in the summer, and when I parted from him at
Coleorton at the end of October, he was in as good health
and spirits as he has ever been since we first knew him
twenty-three years ago, and appeared as likely to live for
eight years to come as any of our younger friends, though
his seventy-third birthday was on the 6th of November.
. . . Dear Lady Beaumont has been wonderfully supported
hitherto, but I fear the worst for her is yet to come, and
that strength and spirits may wholly fail ; for she is of a
306 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
weak bodily constitution, and after having lived with a
husband fifty years in perfect harmony, sharing in all
his pursuits, the change must be dreadful, — and such a
husband!
Sir George Beaumont was buried on Wednesday, just
a week after his death. His illness was short, I believe
not more than ten days. Charles and Mary Lamb will,
I know, sympathise with us. They knew and highly
valued our inestimable friend. Give our love to them.
In haste, ever your affectionate
D. Wordsworth.
CCCCXLV
William Wordsworth to Basil Montagu
[Postmark, March 20, 1827.]
My dear Montagu,
First I received four volumes of your Lord B)nron, and
then separately, through the hands of Mr. Strickland
Cookson, I believe, the fifth. No more have reached me ;
if the sixth has been sent through the same channel as the
fifth it ought to be inquired after ; otherwise a set may
be broken. I had a letter from Mr. S. Cookson about a
fortnight ago and he made no mention of another volume
having reached him.
I have nothing important to observe on your preface.
It is judicious and written with spirit. The head of
" Ignorance " as an objection to change is not, I think,
so well treated as the rest. " Habit " ought to have been
distinctly stated as giving an undue weight to the reasons
which may exist for continuing practises for which better
might be substituted. Weighty must habit be when it
has anything of reason to aid it, if the poor Italian can
TO BASIL MONTAGU 307
through its influence alone be so absurd as your story
represents. Are you aware that the horrid practise of
wife-sacrifice in India is the result of the policy of the
polygamist husband to guard his own life from the attacks
of the malcontents among his numerous wives, by making
it a point of honour that such sacrifice should take place
upon his decease ? The natural dread of death gives the
whole band an interest in prolonging his existence.
Ever sincerely yours,
W. W.
CCCCXLVI
William Wordsworth to J, Fletcher
Rydal Mount, near Ambleside,
1 2th April, 1827.
Dear Sir,
It was gratifying to be remembered after your long and
interesting wandering. I shall take care of your obliging
letter, and if my fortune should ever prove favourable to
my wishes by allowing me to revisit the Alps, I trust I
shall profit by some of your notices. I wish you had
been a little more particular upon the scenery of the
Apennines about which there is much disagreement of
opinion. In Alpine Switzerland I think there is a good
deal of sameness. Switzerland must be taken altogether.
The Jura, its valleys, and the views of the Alps and the
intermediate plain from its eminences never can be for-
gotten; and in thinking of the Alps one should always
bear in mind both their Helvetian and Italian features,
otherwise great injustice is done to that region which is
the pride not only of Europe but of the globe. Fine
scenery is more widely spread perhaps than you are
3o8 MARY WORDSWORTH
willing to allow ; though not in Europe, yet think of
the Pyrenees, and many parts of Portugal and Spain.
Never scarcely was any region so overpraised as " La
belle France." Its climate is good, but all the interior is
tame. It has been well compared to a shawl, of which
the beauty and interest are all in the border. I have
heard the bold coast and deep inlets of Norway praised
as the finest things in Europe. Sir Humphry Davy was
particularly lavish in extolling them. I write in haste.
Let me beg that if you should be drawn this way, you
would favour me with your company, when we may talk
over these things. With warm thanks,
I remain, dear sir.
Very sincerely, your obliged
W. Wordsworth.
CCCCXLVII
Mary Wordsworth to John Kenyon
August 28, 1827.
My dear Friend,
Having lost sight of you for so long a time, we had
concluded that you and yours were in progress towards
the Immortal City, until the letter, received on Sunday,
proved to us that you are still on this side the channel,
yet so near that I should not be surprised to hear, at any
moment, that you had taken flight across. Dover must
be a tantalizing situation to those whose desires have so
long dwelt upon foreign travel — to see those steamers
daily fuming backwards and forwards 1 How can you resist
them ? Otherwise those ever varying scenes must be a con-
stant source of amusement and interest, and we think you
TO JOHN KENYON 309
could not have made a better choice, unless indeed you
had pitched your tent, for a time, among the lakes and
mountains. But we think you have some prudential con-
siderations for delaying to introduce Mrs. K. to people of
our stamp. As far as we are concerned the dreams of
Italy are passed away, but they may, and I hope will, revive
again for you. I hope that no untoward event may stand
in the way of the accomplishment of your wishes next
year.
From Idle Mount, which just now well supports that
title, I have nothing but good to communicate ; and to
begin with the best of good things, let me tell you — which
I do with a thankful heart — that W.'s eyes are quite well.
How this good work was wrought you shall hear when
we meet Dora, whom you so kindly inquire after, is
no longer an invalid ; she is become as strong as I ever
remember her to have been, but this happy state is only
to be depended upon so long as the beautiful weather
lasts. She is a complete air gage. As soon as damp is
felt, the trouble in her throat returns; something con-
nected with the trachea, that causes a cough and other
inconveniences. To keep this enemy aloof, she is not to
winter in our weeping climate ; therefore before the next
rainy season sets in, perhaps in a very few weeks, she
with myself for her attendant are to quit our pleasant
home and friends ; but we mean to go to others, and make
ourselves as joyous as we can. Our first and longest sojourn
will be with my brother at Brinsop Court, near Hereford.
(Had we met you in the Cathedral, or wandering upon the
Wye, how lucky we should have thought ourselves !) We
shall visit Mrs. Gee near Bristol, and, had you not so
rashly given up your home at Bath, we should not
have been so near without partaking for a few days of
3IO MARY WORDSWORTH
your and Mrs. Kenyon's hospitality. You will say, what
is to become of Mr. W. all this time ? This thought I do
not encourage, except when we plan a scheme for meeting
at Coleorton, or for his joining us in Herefordshire. We
are looking for Miss Wordsworth's return home, after a
two months' absence, towards the end of the week. She
will be stationed throughout the winter at R. M., as will
also, I believe, my sister Sarah, John, and Willy. Willy
has grown, as you suspect, amazingly, though he has not yet
reached his father's height. John intends to take orders
as soon as he can meet with a curacy. Should you hear
of any vacancy in a good neighbourhood, where the duty
is not too heavy for a novice to undertake, you perhaps
will be kind enough to let him know, and you might also
say a good word for him.
My sister Sarah, Dora, and Mr. Quillinan — who has
been our guest for the last few days — have ridden over
to Keswick this morning. Southey's family are all well
I, together with Dora, spent a week very pleasantly with
them since the commencement of the present month, and
we also had a picnic meeting under Raven Crag by the
margin of Wytheburn; the families of Greta Hall and
Rydal Mount, with other vagrants, making a party of
about thirty. A merry group we formed, round a gypsy
fire upon the rocky point that juts from the shore, on the
opposite side of the lake from the high road.
Dr. Wordsworth's three distinguished sons ^ are now at
Bowness, reading with several other students and their
tutor. Except after the business of the week is over, on
the Saturdays and Sundays, we see nothing of them. They
1 Christopher, afterwards Bishop of Lincoln ; John, referred to
at p. 460; and Charles, afterwards Bishop of St. Andrews. — Ed
TO JOHN.KENYON 311
are delightful youths, and have learnt — or rather time
has taught them — to enjoy this country, which they
thought little of when they were last in it, the summer
you were here I think. Tillbrook made but a short stay,
and was very unlucky, having imprudently taken too long
a walk, to show the view into Langdale to a young friend,
and fatigued himself so much as obliged him almost to keep
to his sofa during the remainder of his stay. He was only
twice up the hill.
The Bishop of Chester and his lady took possession of
Ivy Cot about three weeks since, and mean to make it their
headquarters until October. The bishop is a delightful
companion, and is indefatigable in the duties of his high
office. He preaches every Sunday, often twice, in some
or other of the neighbouring churches, — a grand feast
for us, who are so often doomed to feed on such a slender
meal as our Westmorland divines lay before us. Mrs.
Blomfield, too, is a pleasant agreeable person, but they are
so much engaged among the grandees of the neighbour-
hood that we do not see much of them ; besides, she is
delicate, and the " Hall bank " is too much for her.
The house at the foot of the hill is at present empty
but Fox Ghyll, beautified by Mrs. Luff, is a delight-
ful residence. Spring Cottage, the second house under
Loughrigg upon the river, is occupied by two maiden
ladies, who are admirers of scenery^ and understand the
ologies. In the latter we do not participate. The sciences
do not flourish at Idle Mount. Thus you see that if the
travellers did not steal our industrious propensities from
us, our neighbours would.
Here you must refer to the numerals for directions how
to proceed, for, till I had written to the end of the third
page, I did not discover I had turned over two sheets.
312 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
after reaching the bottom of the first ; and to this blunder
you owe this long letter, for I should not have ventured
beyond a single sheet, although I can command a frank.
With best regards to Mrs. K. and kindest remembrances
from all, believe me to be,
Very sincerely yours,
M. Wordsworth.
CCCCXLVIII
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
Rydal Mount, near Kendal,
September 24, 1827.
You will have no pain to suffer from my sincerity.
With a safe conscience I can assure you that, in my judg-
ment, your verses are animated with true poetic spirit, as
they are evidently the product of strong feeling. The
sixth and seventh stanzas affected me much, even to the
dimming of my eye, and faltering of my voice while I was
reading them aloud. . . . You will not, I am sure, be
hurt, when I tell you that the workmanship is not what it
ought to be.
Some touch of human S3anpathy find way.
And whisper that while Truth's and Science' ray
With such serene effulgence o'er thee shone —
Sympathy might whisper, but a touch of sympathy could
not. " Truth's and Science' ray," for the ray of Truth and
Science, is not only extremely harsh, but a " ray shone " is,
if not absolutely a pleonasm, a great awkwardness ; a " ray
may be said to fall or * shoot ' " ; and a sun, or a moon, or a
candle to shine, but not a ray. I much regret that I did
TO WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON 313
not receive these verses while you were here ; that I might
have given you viva voce a comment upon them which
would be tedious by letter, and, after all, very imperfect.
If I have the pleasure of seeing you again, I will beg per-
mission to dissect these verses, or any other you may be
inclined to show me ; but I am certain that, without con-
ference with me, or any benefit drawn from my practise
in metrical composition, your own high powers of mind
will lead you to the main conclusions ; you will be brought
to acknowledge that the logical faculty has infinitely more
to do with poetry than the young and the inexperienced,
whether writer or critic, ever dreams of. Indeed, as the
materials upon which that faculty is exercised in poetry
are so subtle, so plastic, so complex, the application of it
requires an adroitness which can proceed from nothing
but practise ; a discernment, which emotion is so far from
bestowing that at first it is ever in the way of it. . . .
Here I must stop; only let me advert to two lines :
But shall despondence therefore blench my brow^
Or pining sorrow sickly ardour o'er.
These are two of the worst lines in mere expression.
** Blench" is perhaps miswritten for "blanch"; if not, I
don't understand the word. Blench signifies to flinch.
If " blanch " be the word, the next ought to be " hair'^
You can't here use brow for the hair upon it, because a
white brow or forehead is a beautiful characteristic of
youth. " Sickly ardour o'er " was at first reading to me
unintelligible. I took " sickly " to be an adjective joined
with ** ardour," whereas you mean it as a portion of a verb,
from Shakespeare, " Sicklied o'er with the pale cast of
thought." But the separation of the parts or decomposi-
tion of the word, as here done, is not to be endured.
314 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Let me now come to your sister's verses, for which I
thank you. They are surprisingly vigorous for a female
pen, but occasionally too rugged, and especially for such
a subject ; they have also the same fault in expression as
your own, but not I think in quite an equal degree.
Much is to be hoped from feelings so strong, and from a
mind thus disposed. I should have entered into particu-
lars with these also, had I seen you after they came into
my hands. Your sister is, no doubt, aware that in her
poem she has trodden the same ground as Gray, in his
Ode upon a Distant Prospect of Eton College, What he
has been contented to treat in the abstract she has repre-
sented in particulars, and with admirable spirit. Again,
my dear sir, let me exhort you (and do you exhort your
sister) to deal little with modem writers, but fix your atten-
tion almost exclusively upon those who have stood the test
of time. You especially have not leisure to allow of your
being tempted to turn aside from the right course by
deceitful lights. . . .
W. W.
CCCCXLIX
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
1827.
Perhaps the fate of the bill^ is already decided, or will
be so, before this reaches your hands. I cannot forbear,
however, writing once more upon a subject which is
scarcely ever out of my thoughts. I see that a writer in
the Quarterly Review is most decidedly against the bill
going into committee: he appears convinced, as thou-
sands are, that no good would arise from it, and that the
1 The Reform BUI. — Ed.
TO LORD LONSDALE 315
destruction of the Constitution must follow ; adding that
if the Lords resist they will at least fall with honour. In
this I perfectly concur with him. . . . Residing at a dis-
tance from town, I can form no distinct notion of the
mischief which might immediately arise, with an execu-
tive such as now afflicts this kingdom. But I do con-
fidently affirm that there are materials for constructing
a party which, if the bill be not passed, might save the
country. I have numerous acquaintances among men
who have all their lives been more or less of Reformers,
but not one, unfastened by party engagements, who does
not strongly condemn this bill.
CCCCL
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
November 29, 1827.
. . . The nation will now know what Lord Grey
meant by his expression, "a measure equally efficient."
If he meant efficient for a change as great, as sudden,
and upon the same principles of spoliation and disfran-
chisement in the outset as the former bill — and the new
constituency to be supplied by its coarse and clumsy con-
trivances, not to speak of the party injustice of their
application — then it must be obvious to all honest men
of sound judgment that nothing can prevent a subversion
of the existing government by King, Lords, and Com-
mons, and the violation of the present order of society in
this country. Such at least is the deliberate opinion of
all those friends whose judgment I am accustomed to
look up to. One of the ablest things I have read upon
3l6 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
the character and tendency of the Reform Bill is in the
North American Review of four or five months back.
The author lays it down — and I think gives irrefragable
reasons for his opinion — that the numerical principle
adopted, and that of property also, can find no root but
in universal suffrage. Being a Republican, and a pro-
fessed hater and despiser of our modified feudal institu-
tions, he rejoices over the prospect, and his views, though
in some points mistaken, for want of sufficient knowledge
of £nglish society, are entitled to universal consideration.
CCCCLI
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
. . . The altered bill does little or nothing to prevent
the dangers of the former. . . . The mischief already
done can never be repaired. The scheme of regulating
representation by arbitrary lines of property or numbers
is impracticable ; such distinctions will melt away before
the inflamed passions of the people. No government
will prove sufficiently strong to maintain them, till the
novelty which excites a thirst for further change shall
be worn off, and the new constituency have a chance of
acquiring by experience the habits of a temperate use
of their powers. A preponderance so large being given
to ten-pound renters, the interest and property of the large
towns where they are to vote will not be represented,
much less that of the community at large ; for these ten-
pound renters are mainly men without substance, and
live, as has been said, from hand to mouth. Then will
follow frequent Parliaments — triennial perhaps at first —
which will convert the representatives into mere slavish
TO LORD LONSDALE 317
delegates, as they now are in America, under the dictation
of ignorant and selfish numbers, misled by unprincipled
journalists, who, as in France, will — no few of them — find
their way into the House of Commons, and so the last
traces of a deliberative assembly will vanish. But enough
of this melancholy topic. I resided fifteen months in
France, during the heat of the Revolution, and have
some personal experience of the course which these move-
ments must take, if not fearlessly resisted, before the
transfer of legislative power takes place. . . .
CCCCLII
William Wordsworth to Christopher Wordsworth
[Trinity College, Cambridge.]
My dear Brother,
... I have a proposal to make. We quit this place
Saturday week, meaning to stop two days at Birmingham,
two at Worcester with Miss Wills, Lady B.'s cousin, and
one at Malvern if the snow be not on the ground. Our
earnest wish is, that you should join us at Brinsop Court,
Mr. Hutchinson's, about six miles from Hereford, where
I will meet you with ^ gig. My stay will be prolonged in
that country sufficiently to allow of our passing a week
together, divided between Mr. Hutchinson and Mr.
Monkhouse, who lives at no distance from him on the
banks of the Wye. You would have a saddle horse or a
gig at command, while in that part of the country. . . .
Most affectionately yours,
W. W.
3l8 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
To this letter Wordsworth wrote a postscript to his
nephew Christopher, in which the following occurs :
My dear Chris.,
... As to the Virgil,^ I have no objection to its being
printed if two or three good judges would previously take
the trouble of looking it over, and they should think it
worth while. Could Mr. Hare find time for that pur-
pose, he or any others ? On the other side I have given
you a few corrections, and shall be glad of any of yours,
or those of anybody else. . . .
Most affectionately your uncle,
W. Wordsworth.
The following is crossed over the page.
This way and that the ] ® [• are inclined,
Split into parties by the fickle mind.
Where hast thou tarried, Hector? from what coast
Com'st thou long-wished for ? After thousands lost,
Thy kindred and thy friends such travail borne
By all that breathe in Troy, how tired and worn
We who behold thee ! But why thus return ?
These gashes whence? This undeserved disgrace!
Who first defiled that calm majestic face?
My heart misgave me not, nor did mine eye
Look back till we had reached the boundary
Of ancient Ares.
Have the goodness to insert the above correction in
your copy, if not for preference at least for choice.
W. W.
1 Evidently his translation of part of the first book of the yEfuid,
for which see Poetical Works^ Vol. VIII, p. 276. It was published
in the Philological Museum in 1836. The passage quoted below does
not occur in what is printed in the Poetical Works and the Philo-
logical Museum, — £d.
(
TO MARY, AND DORA WORDSWORTH 319
1828
CCCCLIII
William Wordsworth to Mary^ and Dora Wordsworth
Thursday, [1828.]
Dearest M. and D.,
From what I learn Mrs. Gee is left in such narrow cir-
cumstances that on that account alone it will be better
not to stay more than three weeks with her at Hendon.*
I could wish to assist Mrs. Gee, tell her, in disposing
of her portion of the Langdale estate, but you are aware
that no complete title can be made to it till little Mary
M. is of age, so that I fear it will be almost an insurmount-
able objection. I will try. I shall be hurt if you do not
so contrive as to spend at least a month at Cambridge with
Dr. W.^ It is not necessary that I should be there to meet
you. I will follow as soon as I can. . . . John arrived
the day before yesterday, looking well and apparently
in good spirits. Bills to the amount of upwards of ;£'6o,
including the one paid by Mr. Jackson, have been sent
for battles, etc.
This was my main inducement for closing with Mr.
Reynold's offer for The Keepsake} I have already written
1 Mrs. Gee had a girls* school at Hendon, which Dora Words-
worth had attended. — Ed.
2 The Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, the poet's brother.
— Ed.
' Wordsworth sent to The Keepsake four poems, viz., The Triads
The Wishing-Gate^ Miserrimusy and The Gleaner, — Ed.
320 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
all that will be necessary to fulfill my engagement, but I
wish to write a small narrative poem by way of variety,
in which case I shall defer something of what is already
written till another year, if we agree.
I have written one little piece, thirty-four lines, on the
picture of a beautiful peasant-girl bearing a sheaf of
com.* The person I had in my mind lives near the
Blue Bell, Fillingham — a sweet creature ; we saw her
going to Hereford.
Another piece, eighty-two lines, same stanza as Ruth^
is entitled The Wishing-Gate at Grastnere? Both have,
I think, merit. . . .
William continues in good spirits and sufficiently indus-
trious. . . .
I will add for Dora a few additional lines for The
Promise^ that is the title of the poem. After "Where
grandeur is unknown," add —
What living man would fear
The worst of Fortune's malice, wert thou near.
Humbling that lily-branch, thy sceptre meek.
To brush from off his cheek
The too, too happy tear ?
Queen and handmaid lowly ! etc.
Before "Next to these shades a Nymph," etc., read
this :
Like notes of birds that after showers
In April concert try their powers,
And with a tumult and a rout
Of warbling, force coy Phoebus out ;
1 The original title was The Gleaner (suggested by a ptcture),—^
2 The title, alike in The Keepsake and in the Poems of 1832, was
simply The Wishing-Gate. — Ed.
« The original title of The Triad, ^^d.
(
TO MARY, AND DORA WORDSWORTH 32 1
Or bid some dark cloud's bosom show
That form divine, the many coloured bow,
E'en so the thrillings of the Ijrre
Prevail to further our desire,
While to these shades a nymph I call,
The youngest of the lovely three :
With glowing cheek from pastimes virginal
Behold her hastening to the tents
Of nature, and the lonely elements 1
And, as if wishful to disarm
Or to repay the tuneful charm.
She bears the stringed lute of old Romance, etc.
"With the happy rose en wreathed," on account of
'happy tear" above, read "With Idalian rose."
cad thus :
Only ministers to quicken
Sallies of instinctive wit ;
Unchecked in laughter-loving gaiety,
In all the motions of her spirit, free.
irewell, dearest loves. I have shown the above addi-
> to nobody, even in this house ; so I shall shut up
etter that neither it nor they may be read. Love to
t both houses. Again farewell.
Your affectionate husband and father,
W. W.
Sunday Morning, 9 o'clock,
iearest Dora,
am looking for Mr. Quillinan every moment. I hope
vive the conversation of yesterday.
[le sum is: I make no opposition to this marriage,
ve no resentment connected with it toward any one;
322 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
you know how much friendship I have always felt towards
Mr. Q.y and how much I respect him. I do not doubt
the strength of his love and affection towards you ; this,
as far as I am concerned, is the fair side of the case.
On the other hand, I cannot think of parting with you
with that complacency, that satisfaction, that hopefulness
which I could wish to feel ; there is too much of neces-
sity in the case for my wishes. But I must submit, and
do submit ; and God Almighty bless you, my dear child,
and him who is the object of your long and long-tried
preference and choice.
Ever your affectionate father,
Wm. Wordsworth.
ft
Thursday.
Your letter to me just received. Thanks ; I will write
from Brinsop. W. W.
My dear Daughter,
The letter which you must have received from William
has placed before you my judgment and feelings; how
far you are reconciled to them I am unable to divine. I
have only to add that I believe Mr. Q. to be a most hon-
ourable and upright man, and further, that he is most
strongly and faithfully attached to you ; this I must sol-
emnly declare in justice to you both ; and to this I add
my blessing upon you and him; more I cannot do, and if
this does not content you with what your brother has
said, we must all abide by God's decision upon our
respective fates. Mr. Q. is, I trust, aware how slender
my means are. The state of William's health will undoubt-
edly entail upon us considerable expense, and how John
TO ALLAN CUNNINGHAM 323
is to get on without our aid I cannot foresee. No more
at present, my time is out ; I am going to join Miss Fen-
wick at Miss Pollard's.
Ever your most tender-hearted and affectionate father,
Wm. Wordsworth.
In a beautiful churchyard near Bath I saw, the other
day, this inscription :
Thomas Carrol, Esq.,
Barrister at Law
Bom — so, died — so.
Rest in peace, dear Father.
There was not another word.
CCCCLIV
William Wordsworth to Allan Cunningham
Brinsop Court, near Hereford,
January 9th, 1828.
My dear Sir,
Has my friend Mr. Quillinan lately ordered a copy of
my bust from you ? If not, be so good as to have one
Cast for him, which I will pay for ; he having left the one
he possessed in Westmoreland for a connection of mine.
I shall also want a bust for one of my nephews, who has
lately distinguished himself at Oxford, and has just been
elected a student of Christ Church — where he has rooms
as long as he chooses to remain unmarried. When my
other two nephews who are now of Cambridge are likely
to be as far settled as their brother, I shall want a bust
for each of them. In the meanwhile be so kind as to have
one executed as carefully as you can for Mr. Quillinan,
who will be directed to call upon you ; and let the other
324 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
be sent to Charles Wordsworth, Esq., Christ Church, Ox-
ford. I shall be in Town in spring, when I will take care
to discharge my debt for these busts ; and will also take
such steps as may ensure the payment of the one which,
at Mr. Coleridge's request, — I mean Mr. Edward Cole-
ridge of Eaton, — I begged might be cast for him, and
which was accordingly sent to him at that place by you ;
but perhaps he has himself discharged the debt.
In the letter I had the pleasure of receiving from you
some time ago, you recur to the scheme of a selection
from my poems for circulation among the Scotch peas-
antry. When we meet I will talk this over with you, and
we will discuss its practicability. I should myself be
wholly at a loss what pieces to fix upon for such persons.
I am happy to see that your pen continues busy, but
scarcely any new books find their way to me in West-
moreland. I am at present on a visit to a brother-in-law,
with whom my wife and daughter are residing for the
winter. . . .
Believe me, my dear sir.
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLV
William Wordsworth to John Taylor
Rydal Mount, Jan. 30, 1828.
My dear Sir,
... I have also to thank you for an exhortation urging
me to pay a tribute to the memory of our departed friend,
Sir G. Beaumont. Be assured I feel strongly on the sub-
ject; but even from that very cause one often shrinks
from what might prove an unworthy attempt. . . .
I
TO ALLAN CUNNINGHAM 325
CCCCLVI
William Wordsworth to Allan Cunningham
Rydal Mount, February 26, 1828.
My dear Sir,
You are too late in your application. I have been dis-
agreeably circumstanced in respect to these publications.
One of my friends, the conductor of a public journal,
applied to me some time ago for contributions. I refused
on the ground that I had never been engaged on any
periodical, nor meant to be. A gentleman whom I have
not the honour of knowing, but to whom I am under con-
siderable obligations, is editor of one of these annuals,
and had a claim upon me, though he did not ask for a
contribution, nor did I contribute, for the same general
reason. I have since had applications, I believe, from
nearly every editor, but complied with none. I have,
however, been smuggled into the Winter's Wreath^ to
which I contributed three years ago, it being then
intended as a solitary publication for charitable purposes.
(The two pieces of mine which appeared there had some
months before been published by myself in the last
edition of the poems.) This having broken the ice, I
had less reluctance to close with a proposal the other day
made me by Mr. Reynolds, the terms of which were too
liberal to be easily resisted. . . . Mr. Sharp is entitled
to the gratitude of the poets of England for the elegant,
and above all — for what I am told is the case — the very
correct editions published by him.
Believe me, my dear sir.
Very faithfully, your much obliged friend,
Wm. Wordsworth.
326 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCCLVII
William Wordsworth to Allan Cunningham
Rydal Mount, March 7th, 1828.
My dear Friend,
I am sorry to find you rate my assistance so high. It
would give me great pleasure to meet your wishes, but
I see little hope of it at present, even if the terms on
which alone I should feel myself at liberty to contribute
could be acceded to by you. Much as I should value
the bronze bust, it is a mode of remuneration too indefi-
nite for my present engagement. Considering the sums
offered by Mr. Heath to literary men, I think it might
be imprudent to enter into competition with him as far
as authorship goes ; unless the proprietor (or proprietors)
of your work be prepared to enter upon it with a capital
that would allow a heavy expenditure for this branch
only, though with the embellishment comparatively insig-
nificant.
I speak to you as editor alone. The proprietors of some
of these works have made large sums by them, and it
is reasonable that the writers should be paid in some
proportion.
For my own part I acknowledge that a wish to gratify
you, and I feel it very strongly, comes and must come
second upon an occasion like this. It is a matter of
trade. All my natural feelings are against appearing
before the public in this way. Having spoken thus
frankly, I dismiss the subject. ... .
Ever faithfully yours, \
Wm, Wordsworth,
TO ALLAN CUNNINGHAM 327
Steel engraving has given birth to these publications,
and the immense number of impressions of the plates
which it allows must be the support of those that suc-
ceed. It is therefore politic not to starve the authorship,
which after all forms but a small part of the expense.
CCCCLVIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to William Pearson
Rydal Mount, Thursday, September 25th, [1828.]
My dear Sir,
I was very sorry to find you had not seen my brother
at Mr. Tilbrook's when you were last here, and that you
were gone when I inquired for you. It was indeed very
unlucky that you should have come at a time when so
many strangers were gathered together at Rydal Mount.
I now write for two reasons. In the first place, to say
I hope to ascend Helvellyn with you before my depar-
ture to Whitwick, and in the second, to request that you
will bring with you my Scotch Tour when you come —
if you have not an opportunity of sending it before, by
some individual whom you can depiend upon, for leaving
it at Rydal Mount — who will give it into the hands of
one of our servants, or other person of the family, to be
delivered to Miss Wordsworth, Sr.
We are at present in want of the Journal^ but (it not
being here) there is no need that you should trouble
yourself to send it purposely. A week or two now will
make no difference.
Next week we expect company. But after that time
my brother and I will be at perfect liberty to climb Hel-
vellyn with you any fine morning when you may happen
328 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
to arrive. Come by half-past eight o'clock, and if on a
Keswick-coach day, so much the better, as we could go
on the coach to Dunmail Raise. Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays are the days on which the coach goes to
Keswick.
I shall depart towards Leicestershire about the first
week in November, therefore the sooner you come the
better, after next week.
With kind respects from all the family, and my brother
especially, who much regretted he did not see you,
I remain.
Yours truly,
D. Wordsworth, Sr.
CCCCLIX
Dorothy Wordsworth to William Pearson
Rydal Mount, Tuesday, 9th October, [1828.]
My dear Sir,
The weather seems now to be clearing up ; but I am
sorry to say we cannot ascend Helvellyn this week on
account of engagements; and next week also we are
engaged for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday ; but should
Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday prove fine, we should
be glad to accompany you on any one of those days, for
we give up the coach scheme, and intend to take the pony
chaise as far as the Nag's Head.^
I am, dear sir.
Yours respectfully,
D. Wordsworth.
1 The inn at Wythebum. — Ed.
I
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 329
CCCCLX
William Wordsworth to Allan Cunningham
Nov. nth, [1828.]
My dear Friend,
I send back your preface with two or three verbal
alterations ; there is no need of Mr. Southey's assistance.
It will do as it is. I wish the Selection^ may answer
the purpose — for myself I can form no conjecture. I
congratulate you on the success of your Annual, I am
engaged on the same terms for The Keepsake^ and am not
quite easy under the engagement, as I have not written
a line, nor am I in possession of one which would answer
their purpose ; so that I really could not promise a con-
tribution to any other work of the kind, were the pub-
lishers prepared to pay me at the rate which I am at
liberty to accept. I regret this both on your account,
and for Mr. Alaric Watts, whom I wished to serve. I
send you back your own letter, thinking it may save
you some trouble of transcription. I see that Simon
Lee is down on your list. I could wish that piece to
be slightly altered thus. The second stanza to stand as
the fourth, thus altered.
But oh the heavy change ! bereft
Of strength of friends and kindred, see
The next stanza to begin thus :
And he is lean.
^ This must refer to a projected volume of Selections which was
never issued. — Ed.
330 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
... Is the bust ^ sent off to Mr. Charles Wordsworth,
Christ Church, Oxon? Do you know the address of
Mr. James Wilson of Edinburgh, brother to the pro-
fessor ? He wishes one to be sent to him to Edinburgh
by sea.
CCCCLXI
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, 28th November.
My dear Friend,
Welcome to England, and thanks for your interesting
letter which will be carefully preserved with its prede-
cessors of the same class in my sister's possession.
Your account of the Pyrenean valleys falls in pretty much
with my own expectation. I never heard of but one per-
son, Walter Savage Landor, who preferred the Pyrenees
to the Alps. Have you read Raymond's account of the
former? It is well worth looking over, more for the
beauty of particular passages, than for its general interest
or its merit (as far as I am able to judge) as an acquisi-
tion to geology. It is, however, on this account that the
author seems to pride himself. His translation of Coxe,
I think, I recommended to you before. I am now about
to consult you on my son William's present destination;
and to come to the point at once I want to place him in
some establishment on the Continent, or rather make
some family arrangement with a Protestant clergyman
who has two or three pupils, not less than sixteen or
seventeen years of age — though perhaps that might not
be of consequence — where he might continue his classical
I The bust by Chantry. — Ed.
(
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 331
studies as preparatory to one of our Universities, and at
the same time learn German and French or both, with a
little desk-diligence, but mainly by conversation. It is
possible that through my friends of the Lowther family I
may be able in course of time to get him into a govern-
ment office. They have been spoken to on the subject;
but should that hope fail, he must face one of our Uni-
versities as his only resource. I will not tire you with
further particulars, as I fancy you know a little of his
history, — his strong bent to the army, etc. He is turned
eighteen.
Pray come and see us. I remember a man who got a
prize in the lottery for which he was heartily sorry : he
was so pestered by distressed persons and their patrons
with begging petitions. You are now rich in leisure, and
will be exposed to as many demands upon your time as
this unfortunate was upon his money. We of this house-
hold are likely to be among the number of these appli-
cants, and our first demand — a pretty lusty one it is —
is that you would put yourself upon the top of a coach, ad-
vanced as the season is, and brighten our fireside. We
are not dull, however, I assure you ; and pretty busy in
our little way, of which our proof is that last week I threw
oS three hundred and sixty verses at a heat. I should
like to tell you something about our Rhine trip, though
you do not ask, so I will put it off, the more so because
you will hear of it from Mr. Aders ; to whom, by-the-bye,
we are in debt for a thousand kindnesses and for one
small sum of money. He paid for our passport, and on
settling accounts I forgot to reimburse him. This I have
mentioned to Coleridge, but it may slip his memory.
Therefore if you do not learn that C. has discharged the
debt, pray do it for me with my kindest regards, and tell
332 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
us in your next how Mrs. Aders is. Mr. Quillinan has the
power to remit the amount of our debt to you. There-
fore get of him the deficit at your leisure. We had yes-
terday a delightful letter from my sister, who is with her
nephew at Whitwick, between Loughborough and Ashby-
de-la-Zouch. She speaks with high delight of her journey
from Buxton down Darleydale (i.e. through Matlock) to
Derby and Nottingham. . . .
Most faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Whitwick, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch,
November 30th, 1828.
My dear Friend,
I will not say that I like a letter the worse for being
franked, but I should have been very angry with you
(could I have known of my loss) had you kept yours
back, as you threatened to do, in case of not meeting
with a franker ; so, once for all, let me assure you that
the sight of your handwriting is always welcome to me
at whatever cost, and, at the same time, I beg that when-
ever you have the inclination to take the pen — whether
you have anything new to tell me or not — you will favour
me with a letter of chit-chat, or whatever may come
into your head. You are now a man of leisure, therefore
I make no scruple in asking this of you. You can hardly
form a notion of the pleasure it will be to me during the
coming lonely winter to receive tidings of distant friends,
— lonely I mean in comparison with past years, for my
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 333
nephew John is my constant companion, and we are very
comfortable and happy together. To be sure I have only
had a fortnight's trial, but I think I have already seen
enough of Whitwick fireside to be justified in my belief
that time will not hang heavy on our hands ; yet never
was there a place, though it is a crowded village, more
barren of society, except at the distance of three miles,
where our rector and his family and Lady Beaumont are
always glad to see us, and a visit to them makes a pleas-
ant termination of a walk not longer than we take daily.
You will, I am sure, be glad to hear that John enters
with great zeal into the duties of his profession, and
gives much satisfaction both to the parish and his rector.
He has a fine voice, reads agreeably (according to my
notion at least), and is much liked in the pulpit by his
hearers ; they have been accustomed to a spiritless hum-
drum curate. I, however, do not find John so much at
home in preaching as in reading ; but time will give him
more confidence, and he is so desirous of doing his duty
that I cannot doubt, if God grant him health and strength,
of his becoming an effective preacher.
I know not into what quarter your English travels may
lead you this winter, or in the spring, but we are only a few
miles out of the great North Road — thirteen miles from
Leicester, eight from Loughborough, five from Ashby-de-
la-Zouch. By-the-bye, in future direct to me at Whit-
wick, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch ; it is our regular post town,
and we only get letters from Leicester by chance. This
evening post has brought pleasant tidings from Rydal ;
all well, and my brother busy with poetical labours, and
(what nearly concerns John and me) Mr. Quillinan has
thoughts of paying a visit to Derbyshire with his eldest
daughter, and if so will come to see us. This is what
334 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
he tells my sister, and I heartily wish he may put the
scheme into execution. Pray, if you see him, tell him so.
Indeed I must not trust to chance; if you do not see
him, be so good as to write him a line by the twopenny
post to the above effect, and desire him, if he comes, to
write a line to say if possible when we may expect him,
and to direct near Ashby, etc.
With respect to the ;^io, I find my brother has pro-
vided for payment of his debt to you, therefore be so
good as to keep that sum a little while longer. John is
ordering books to about that amount, and when he has
received them I shall trouble you to pay it to the book-
seller. Am I unreasonable in wishing to have your
sketch of the Pyrenean tour filled up with your actual
adventures ? I fear I am, for I have no claim for such
a favour, having not once written to thank you for the
last addition to my little collection of your tours. I will
not trouble you with explanations — excuse I have none
— but, believe me, I was not less interested by the last
than heretofore, and that I do greatly prize, and always
shall prize, these proofs of your kindness.
Alas for Rome I I never expect to set foot upon that
sacred ground, nor do I ever visit it even in a day-dream.
But once again I do hope to see Switzerland if we all
live a few years longer, and perhaps the country of the
Tyrolese. Indeed, when my brother talks of Rome it
always rather damps my hopes of even crossing the chan-
nel again, so many circumstances must concur to make
so large a scheme practicable, and years slip away. On
the 25th of next month (Xmas Day) I, the youngest of
the three elders of the house, shall have completed my
fifty-sixth year. I intend to stay at Whitwick six months
without stirring from the spot, i.e. till May. My plans,
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 335
after that time, are not fixed ; but certainly before I turn
northward I shall visit my brother C. at Cambridge, and
perhaps a friend at Worcester ; and, if so, shall work on
to Brinsop, where Miss Hutchinson now is, so that it is
probable I shall not return to Rydal till July ; but, as I
said, nothing is fixed but six months at Whitwick, and
feeling that I am so much of a comfort to John here, and
being also myself very comfortable, I shall not find it easy
to resist coming to him again next winter. This brings
me to the wish that he had a good living, and a good
wife, both which blessings I hope he will deserve. I
wish you had seen Charles and Mary Lamb when you
wrote. Pray give my kindest remembrances to them.
I ask them not for a letter, but trust that you will write
ere long and tell me all about them ; also the Clarksons,
it is very long since I had any tidings of them. . . .
Believe me, my dear friend,
Your much obliged and affectionate
D. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXin
William Wordsworth to Benjamin Dockray
Rydal Mount, Dec. 2d, 1828.
Dear Sir,
The papers to which you kindly direct my attention
are written in that spirit which the question eminently
requires ; but as I have not seen the article in the Quar-
terly which called them forth, I am less able to judge
how far they meet the arguments advanced. I shall there-
fore not comment upon any particular passages in your
letter, though some things which you have said upon the
336 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Church of England, and the relation in which its members
stand to it, do not seem to me to be borne out by the fact
My own conclusions upon the general question differ from
yours, because, without considering whether in religious
matters, or matters so intimately connected with religion as
this, the Romanists are bindable by oath or not, I appre-
hend that they are not prepared to give securities at all,
or to submit to such regulations as would leave an attached
member of the Church of England at ease.
The subject has great difficulties on every side. The
strongest argument in my mind against concession is the
danger, not to say the absurdity, of allowing Catholics
to legislate for the property of a Protestant Church.
This property is most inadequately represented in Parlia-
ment, scarcely at all, the clergy being excluded from the
Lower House, and the bishops dependent, in the degree
they are, upon the minister. Now we all know that the
Romanists consider this property as having formerly
belonged to them ; and many, to my certain knowledge
(however extravagant the expectation may seem as to
the Church pf England), look to the recovery of it. The
legal maxim nullum iempus occurrit Regi has on the
minds of the zealots of this body its parallel in respect
to their church. Catholics have sat in Parliament we
know well without directing a battery against the property
of the Protestant church ; they have, I believe, even been
its defenders ; but that was at a time when Episcopacy
and the rights and property of the Church were assailed
by fanatics, endeavouring to subvert everything. No
inference can be drawn from the conduct of Papists when
that hostility was going forward, in favour of their absti-
nence from attack in the present day. I point your
attention to this part of the subject^ from the interest I take
TO BENJAMIN DOCKRAY 337
in it, not merely as a conscientious member of our Church
but from a firm belief that in a secular view only it is
eminently beneficial that so much property should be
held by that kind of tenure, circulating from individual
to individual and from family to family, without being
locked up and confined to particular persons and families.
This part of the argument deserves to be enlarged upon,
and is capable of being most forcibly put ; but I have
not time to do it.
I own I do not see much force in what is said of the
oppressiveness and injustice of exclusion from Parliament,
when we consider what large bodies of men are excluded
— the whole of the clergy from the Lower House, and
every man who has not ;^3oo real estate per annum ;
besides other large classes. Then again as to the stigma,
unless you are prepared to open the Throne itself to
Catholics, and overturn the provision of the Revolution
of 1688, that still must cleave to their name and faith.
But I must conclude. Believe me, dear sir, in haste.
Very respectfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXIV
William Wordsworth to Hugh James Rose
Rydal Mount, Dec. 11, 1828-
My dear Sir,
I have read your excellent sermons delivered before the
University* several times. In nothing were my notions
different from yours as there expressed. It happened
1 On the Commission and Consequent Duties of the Clergy^ preached
before the University of Cambridge, in April, 1826, and published
in 1828. — Ed.
338 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
that I had been reading just before Bishop Bull's sermon/
of which you speak so highly ; it had struck me just in
the same way as an inestimable production. I was highly
gratified by your discourses, and cannot but think that
they must have been beneficial to the hearers, there
abounds in them so pure a fervour. I have as yet
bestowed less attention upon your German controversy*
than so important a subject deserves.
Since our conversation upon the subject of education,
I have found no reason to alter the opinions I then
expressed. Of those who seem to me to be in error, two
parties are especially prominent ; they — the most conspic-
uous head of whom is Mr. Brougham — who think that
sharpening of intellect and attainment of knowledge are
things good in themselves, without reference to the cir-
cumstances under which the intellect is sharpened, or to
the quality of the knowledge acquired. "Knowledge,"
says Lord Bacon, " is power," but surely not less for evil
than for good. Lord Bacon spoke like a philosopher ;
but they who have that maxim in their mouths the
oftenest have the least understanding of it.
The other class consists of persons who are aware of
the importance of religion and morality above everjrthing;
but, from not understanding the constitution of our
nature and the composition of society, they are misled
and hurried on by zeal in a course which cannot but lead
to disappointment. One instance of this fell under my
own eyes the other day in the little town of Ambleside,
where a party, the leaders of which are young ladies, are
1 The Priesfs Office Difficult and Dangerous, — Ed.
2 The State of the Protestant Religion in Germany ^ a series of dis-
courses preached before the University of Cambridge, by the Rev.
Hugh James Rose, London, 1825. — Ed.
TO HUGH JAMES ROSE 339
determined to set up a school for girls on the Madras
system, confidently expecting that these girls will in con-
sequence be less likely to go astray when they grow up to
be women. Alas, alas ! they may be taught, I own, more
quickly to read and write under the Madras system, and
to answer more readily, and perhaps with more intelli-
gence, questions put to them than they could have done
under dame-teaching. But poetry may, with deference to
the philosopher and the religionist, be consulted in these
matters ; and I will back Shenstone's school-mistress, by
her winter fire and in her summer garden-seat, against
all Dr. Bell's sour-looking teachers in petticoats that I
have ever seen.
What is the use of pushing on the education of girls so
fast, and mainly by the stimulus of Emulation, who, to
say nothing worse of her, is cousin-german to Envy?
What are you to do with these girls ? What demand is
there for the ability that they may have prematurely
acquired ? Will they not be indisposed to bend to any
kind of hard labour or drudgery ? And yet many of them
must submit to it, or do wrong. The mechanism of the
Bell system is not required in small places ; praying after
Xh^ fugleman is not like praying at a mother's knee. The
Bellites overlook the difference ; they talk about moral
discipline ; but wherein does it encourage the imaginative
feelings, without which the practical understanding is of
little avail, and too apt to become the cunning slave of
the bad passions ? I dislike display in everything ; above
all in education. . . . The old dame did not affect to
make theologians or logicians ; but she taught to read ;
and she practised the memory, often, no doubt, by rote;
but still the faculty was improved ; something, perhaps,
she explained, and trusted the rest to parents, to masters,
340 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
and to the pastor of the parish. I am sure as good
daughters, as good servants, as good mothers and wives,
were brought up at that time as now, when the world is
so much less humble-minded. A hand full of employ-
ment, and a head not above it, with such principles and
habits as may be acquired without the Madras machinery,
are the best security for the chastity of wiv6s of the lower
rank. Farewell. I have exhausted my paper.
Your affectionate
W. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXV
William Wordsworth to Hugh James Rose
My dear Sir,
I have taken a folio sheet to make certain minutes
upon the subject of Education. . . .
As a Christian preacher your business is with man as
an immortal being. Let us imagine you to be addressing
those, and those only, who would gladly co-operate with
you in any course of education which is most likely to
insure to men a happy immortality. Are you satisfied
with that course which the most active of this class are
bent upon ? Clearly not, as I remember from your con-
versation, which is confirmed by your last letter. Great
principles, you hold, are sacrificed to shifts and expedi-
ents. I agree with you. What more sacred law of
nature, for instance, than that the mother should educate
her child t Yet we felicitate ourselves upon the establish-
ment of infant schools, which is in direct opposition to it.
Nay, we interfere with the maternal instinct before the
child is born, by furnishing, in cases where there is no
I
TO HUGH JAMES ROSE 34 1
necessity, the mother with baby linen for her unborn
child. Now, that in too many instances a lamentable
necessity may exist for this, I allow; but why should
such charity be obtruded ? Why should so many excel-
lent ladies form themselves into committees, and rush
into an almost indiscriminate benevolence, which precludes
the poor mother from the strongest motive human nature
can be actuated by for industry, for forethought, and for
self-denial ? When the stream has thus been poisoned at
its fountain-head, we proceed, by separating, through infant
schools, the mother from the child and from the rest of
the family, disburthening them of all care of the little
one for perhaps eight hours of the day. To those who
think this an evil, but a necessary one, much might be
said, in order to qualify unreasonable expectations. But
there are thousands of stirring people now in England, who
are so far misled as to deem these schools good in them-
selves^ and to wish that, even in the smallest villages, the
children of the poor should have what they call " a good
education " in this way. Now, these people (and no error
is at present more common) confound education with
tuition.
Education, I need not remark to you, is everything
that draws out the human being, of which tuition^ the
teaching of schpols especially, however important, is com-
paratively an insignificant part. Yet the present bent of
the public mind is to sacrifice the greater power to the
less ; all that life and nature teach, to the little that can
be learned from books and a master. In the eyes of an
enlightened statesman this is absurd ; in the eyes of a
pure lowly-minded Christian it is monstrous.
The Spartan and other ancient communities might dis-
regard domestic ties, because they had the substitute of
342 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Country, which we cannot have. With us, Country is a
mere name compared with what it was to the Greeks:
first, as contrasted with barbarians ; and next, and above
all, as patriotic passion alone was strong enough then to
preserve the individual, his family, and the whole State
from ever-impending destruction. Our course is to sup-
plement domestic attachments without the possibility of
substituting others more capricious.
Let it then be universally admitted that infant schools
are an evil, only tolerated to qualify a greater, viz. the
inability of mothers to attend to their children, and the
like inability of the elder to take care of the younger,
from their labour being wanted in factories, or elsewhere,
for their common support. But surely this is a sad state
of society; and if these expedients of tuition or educa-
tion (if that word is not to be parted with) divert our
attention from the fact that the remedy for so mighty an
evil must be sought elsewhere, they are most pernicious
things, and the sooner they are done away with the better.
But even as a course of tuition I have strong objec-
tions to infant schools, and in no small degree to the
Madras system also. We must not be deceived by pre-
mature adroitness. The intellect must not be trained
with a view to what the infant or child may perform,
without constant reference to what that performance
promises for the man. It is with the mind as with the
body. I recollect seeing a German babe stuffed with
beer and beef, who had the appearance of an infant
Hercules. He might have enough in him of the old
Teutonic blood to grow up to be a strong man ; but tens
of thousands would dwindle and perish after such unrea-
sonable cramming. Now I cannot but think that the like
would happen with our modern pupils, if the views of the
TO HUGH JAMES ROSE 343
patrons of these schools were realised. The diet they
offer is not the natural diet for infant and juvenile minds.
The faculties are over-strained, and not exercised with
that simultaneous operation which ought to be aimed at
as far as is practicable. Natural history is taught in
infant schools by pictures stuck up against walls, and
such mummery. A moment's notice of a red-breast peck-
ing by a winter's hearth is worth it all.
These hints are for the negative side of the question ;
and for the positive, what conceit, and presumption,
and vanity, and envy, and mortification, and hypocrisy,
etc., etc. are the unavoidable result of schemes where
there is so much display and contention ! All this is at
enmity with Christianity; and if the practice of sincere
churchmen in this matter be so, what have we not to
fear when we cast our eyes upon other quarters where
religious instruction is deliberately excluded ? The wisest
of us expect far too much from school teaching. One of
the most innocent, contented, happy, and (in his sphere)
most useful, men whom I know can neither read nor
write. Though learning and sharpness of wit must exist
somewhere, to protect, and in some points to interpret,
the Scriptures, yet we are told that the Founder of this
religion rejoiced in spirit, that things were hidden from
the wise and prudent, and revealed unto babes; and
again, '' Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou
hast perfected praise." Apparently, the infants here con-
templated were under a very different course of discipline
•from that which many in our day are condemned to. In
a town of Lancashire, about nine in the morning, the
streets resound with the crying of infants, wheeled off in
carts and other vehicles (some ladies, I believe, lending
their carriages for this purpose) to their school-prisons.
344 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
But to go back a little. Human learning, as far as it
tends to breed pride and self-estimation (and that it
requires constant vigilance to counteract this tendency
we must all feel), is against the spirit of the gospel.
Much cause, then, is there to lament that inconsiderate
zeal, wherever it is found, which whets the intellect by
blunting the affections. Can it, in a general view, be
good that an infant should learn much which its parents
do not know? Will not the child arrogate a superiority
unfavourable to love and obedience ?
But suppose this to be an evil only for the present
generation, and that a succeeding race of infants will
have no such advantage over their parents, still it may
be asked, Should we not be making these infants too
much the creatures of society when we cannot make them
more so? Here would they be, for eight hours in the
day, like plants in a conservatory. What is to become of
them for the other sixteen hours, when they are returned
to all the influences, the dread of which first suggested
this contrivance ? Will they be better able to resist the
mischief they may be exposed to from the bad example
of their parents, or brothers and sisters? It is to be
feared not, because, though they must have heard many
good precepts, their condition in school is artificial ; they
have been removed from the discipline and exercise of
humanity, and they have, besides, been subject to many
evil temptations within school and peculiar to it.
In the present generation I ^cannot see anything of an
harmonious co-operation between these schools and home
influences. If the family be. thoroughly bad, and the
child cannot be removed altogether, how feeble the bar-
rier, how futile the expedient ! If the family be of middle
character, the children will lose more by separation from
TO HUGH JAMES ROSE 345
domestic cares and reciprocal duties than they can pos-
sibly gain from captivity, with such formal instruction as
may be administered.
We are then brought round to the point, that it is to a
physical and not a moral necessity that we must look, if
we would justify' this disregard, I had almost said viola-
tion, of a primary law of human nature. The link of
eleemosynary tuition connects the infant school with the
national schools upon the Madras system. Now I can-
not but think that there is too much indiscriminate
gratuitous instruction in this country ; arising out of the
misconception above adverted to, of the real power of
school teaching, relative to the discipline of life; and
out of an over-value of talent, however exerted, and of
knowledge, prized for its own sake, and acquired in the
shape of knowledge. The latter clauses of the last sen-
tence glance rather at the London University and the
Mechanics' Institutes than at the Madras schools, yet
they have some bearing upon these also. Emulation, as
I observed in my last letter, is the master-spring of that
system. It mingles too much with all teaching, and with
all learning; but in the Madras mode it is the great
wheel which puts every part of the machine into motion.
But I have been led a little too far from gratuitous
instruction. If possible, instruction ought never to be
altogether so. A child will soon learn to feel a stronger
love and attachment to its parents, when it perceives that
they are making sacrifices for its instruction. All that
precept can teach is nothing compared with convictions
of this kind. In short, unless book-attainments are
carried on by the side of moral influences they are of no
avail. Gratitude is one of the most benign of moral influ-
ences ; can a child be grateful to a corporate body for
346 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
its instruction ? or grateful even to the Lady Bountiful of
the neighbourhood, with all the splendour which he sees
about her, as he would be grateful to his poor father and
mother, who spare from their scanty provision a mite for
the culture of his mind at school? If we look back upon
the progress of things in this country since the Refor-
mation, we shall find that instruction has never been
severed from moral influences and purposes, and the
natural action of circumstances, in the way that is now
attempted. Our forefathers established, in abundance,
free grammar schools, but for a distinctly understood
religious purpose. They were designed to provide against
a relapse of the nation into Popery, by diffusing a know-
ledge of the languages in which the Scriptures are written,
so that a sufficient number might be aware how small a
portion of the popish belief had a foundation in Holy
Writ.
It is undoubtedly to be desired that every one should
be able to read, and perhaps (for that is far from being
equally apparent) to write. But you will agree with me,
I think, that these attainments are likely to turn to better
account where they are not gratuitously lavished, and
where either the parents and connections are possessed
of certain property which enables them to procure the
instruction for their children, or where, by their frugality
and other serious and self-denying habits, they contribute,
as far as they can, to benefit their offspring in this way.
Surely, whether we look at the usefulness and happiness
of the individual, or the prosperity and security of the
state, this — which was the course of our ancestors — is
the better course now. Contrast it with that recommended
by men in whose view knowledge and intellectual adroit-
ness are to do everything of themselves.
TO HUGH JAMES ROSE 347
We have no guarantee in the social condition of these
a/<?//-informed pupils for the use they may make of their
power and their knowledge; the scheme points not to
man as a religious being; its end is an unworthy one;
and its means do not pay respect to the order of things.
Try the Mechanics' Institutes, and the London Univer-
sity, etc., by this test. The powers are not co-ordinate
with those to which this nation owes its virtue and its
prosperity. Here is, in one case, a sudden formal
abstraction of a vital principle, and in both an unnatural
and violent pushing on. Mechanics' Institutes make
discontented spirits and insubordinate and presumptuous
workmen. Such at least was the opinion of Watt, one
of the most experienced and intelligent of men. And
instruction, where religion is expressly excluded, is little
less to be dreaded than that by which it is trodden under
foot. And, for my own part, I cannot look without
shuddering on the array of surgical midwifery lectures,
to which the youth of London were invited at the com-
mencement of this season by the advertisements of the
London University. Hogarth understood human nature
better than these professors ; his picture I have not seen
for many long years, but I think his last stage of cruelty
is in the dissecting room.
But I must break off, or you will have double postage
to pay for this letter. Pray excuse it; and pardon the
style, which is, purposely, as meagre as I could make it,
for the sake of brevity. I hope that you can gather the
meaning, and that is enough. I find that I have a few
moments to spare, and will, therefore, address a word to
those who may be inclined to ask. What is the use of all
these objections ? The schoolmaster is, and will remain,
abroad. The thirst of knowledge is spreading and will
348 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
spread, whether virtue and duty go along with it or no.
Grant it ; but surely these observations may be of use if
they tend to check unreasonable expectations. One of
the most difficult tasks is to keep benevolence in alliance
with beneficence. Of the former there is no want, but we
do not see our way to the latter. Tenderness of heart is
indispensable for a good man, but a certain sternness of
heart is as needful for a wise one. We are as impatient
under the evils of society as under our own, and more so ;
for in the latter case, necessity enforces submission. It
is hard to look upon the condition in which so many of
our fellow creatures are born, but they are not to be
raised from it by partial and temporary expedients; it is
not enough to rush headlong into any new scheme that
may be proposed, be it Benefit Societies, Savings' Banks,
Infant Schools, Mechanics' Institutes, or any other. Cir-
cumstances have forced this nation to do, by its manu-
facturers, an undue portion of the dirty and unwholesome
work of the globe. The revolutions among which we
have lived have unsettled the value of all kinds of prop-
erty, and of labour, the most precious of all, to that
degree that misery and privation are frightfully prevalent
We must bear the sight of this, and endure its pressure,
till we have by reflection discovered the cause, and not
till then can we hope even to palliate the evil. It is a
thousand to one but that the means resorted to will
aggravate it. Farewell.
Ever affectionately yours,
W. Wordsworth.
Query. — Is the education in the parish schools of
Scotland gratuitous, or if not, in what degree is it so t
TO F. MANSEL REYNOLDS 349
CCCCLXVI
William Wordsworth to F, Mansel Reynolds ^
Rydal Mount, Dec. 19th, 1828.
My dear Sir,
The best way of thanking you for your obliging letter
is by replying to it immediately, which I shall do snap-
pishly, not in temper, but for the sake of conciseness in
style. ... In winter we live so much to ourselves that
I have scarcely heard of it [ The Keepsake^ or any of its
brethren. You do well to point out to me what would
suit you best, but some of the pieces you mention are
among the happinesses of a life. Such articles cannot
be bespoken with the probability of the contract being
fulfilled. You must take what comes, and be content.
. . . My last edition is yet a few pounds in my^debt, and
I am certain that the sale will be much impeded by the
Paris edition, at less than half the price of the London
one. Everybody goes to Paris nowadays. ... I am
rather rich, having produced seven hundred and thirty
verses during the last month after a long fallow. In the
list are two stories ^ and three incidents,* so that your wish
may be gratified by some one or more of these pieces.
But I will tell you frankly, I can write nothing better than
a great part of The Friend, whether it be for your purpose
or no. I cannot yet dismiss The Keepsake, it has got me
into a scrape with Alaric Watts. He sent me a message
through Mrs. Coleridge (I hope not accurately delivered)
that I had not only puffed everywhere The Keepsake, but
1 Editor of The Keepsake. — Ed.
2 Probably The Triad d^nd^ The fVishin^-Gate. —Ed.
• Probably The Jewish Family^ The Gleaner, and Incident at
Bruges.— -Ed,
350 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
depreciated the other works of its kind, his own of course
included. How he could think me capable of an3rthing so
presumptuous, so ungentlemanly, and so ungenerous, I can-
not conceive ! I was offended, and did not reply ; though
he offered through the same channel to give me as much
as you had done. It is true that I have frequently men-
tioned The Keepsake among my friends and acquaint-
ances, recommending it so far as to say that if high
prices could procure good writings it could be found
there ; but I sometimes added that such result was by
no means sure. But as to any disparaging comparison
between it and other works, especially of those editors
with whom I am acquainted, had I even known the con-
tents of The Keepsake, I could not have done such a
thing. And here let me remind you that I consider
myself quite at liberty to contribute to any of these works
that will pay me as you have done, and have engaged to
do so. I care not a straw whether they will or no, but
that liberty I reserve, also the right of reprinting the
pieces in any new edition of my works that may be called
for. Pray confirm this by letter.
We have had only one letter from Mr. Coleridge, since we
left London. I doubt even that. I believe the short note
was received while we were in town, so that we know nothing
of his proceedings, his jollifications with you included.
Allan Cunningham has been very urgent with me to
write for him. We are on terms of intimacy, but my
answer was as above. He offered me fifty guineas
without mentioning quantity, before he knew the partic-
ulars of my engagement with you; but I told him Alaric
Watts had a prior claim. . . .
I remain, my dear sir.
Very faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
TO BARRON FIELD 35 1
CCCCLXVII
William Wordsworth to Barron Field
Rydal Mount, 20th December, [1828.]
My dear Sir,
... I am truly glad you liked T?u Triad} I think a
great part of it is as elegant and spirited as anything I
have written ; but I was afraid to trust my judgment, as
the aery figures are all sketched from living originals that
are dear to me.
I have had a Worcester paper sent me that gives what
it calls the real history of Miserrimus^ spoiling — as real
histories generally do — the poem altogether. I doubt
whether I ought to tell it you ; yet I may, for I had heard
before — though since I wrote the sonnet — another his-
tory of the same tombstone. The first was, that it was
placed over an impious wretch, who in popish times had
profaned the pix. The newspaper tale is, that it was
placed over the grave of a nonjuring clergyman at his
own request, one who refused to take the oath to King
William, was ejected in consequence, and lived upon the
charity of the Jacobites. He died at eighty-eight years
of age, so that, at any rate, he could not have been ill fed ;
yet the story says that the word alluded to his own suffer-
ings on this account, i.e. his ejection, only. He must have
been made of poor stuff ; and an act of duty of which the
consequences were borne so ill has little to recommend
him to posterity. I can scarcely think that such a feel-
ing would have produced so emphatic and startling an epi-
taph, and in such a place — just at the last of the steps
falling from the Cathedral to the cloister. The pix story
is not probable ; the stone is too recent.
^ Just then published in The Keepsake for 1829. — Ed.
352 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I should like to write a short India piece, if you would
furnish me with a story. Southey mentioned one to me
in Forbes's Travels in India} Have you access to the
book at Liverpool, and leisure to consult it ? He has it
not. It is of a Hindoo girl, who applied to a Brahmin to
recover a faithless lover, an Englishman. The Brahmin
furnished her with an unguent with which she was to
anoint his chest while sleeping, and the deserter would
be won back. If you can find the passage, and as I said
before have leisure, pray be so kind as to transcribe it
for me, and let me know whether you think anything can
be made of it. Adieu ; and believe me
Affectionately and faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXVIII
William Wordsworth to Allan Cunningham
Rydal Mount,
20th December, [Postmark, 1828.]
My dear Friend,
Pray prepare one of my busts for Mr. Barron Field,
who will be in town in spring, and will receive and pay
you for it. He is going out to Ceylon as advocate-fiscal,
and wishes to take it along with him. He is also a par-
ticular friend of Mr. Charles Lamb. I hope my nephew
has received his at Oxford. . . .
Ever faithfully your friend,
Wm. Wordsworth.
1 See Oriental Memoirs ; from a Series of Familiar Letters by
James Forbes (1813-1815), Vol. Ill, pp. 233-235. — Ed.
{
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH 353
CCCCLXIX
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Marshall
[CoLEORTON,] 26 Dec, [1828.]*
. . . The small living of Moresby, vacated by Mr.
Huddlestone of Whitehaven, has been offered to John by
Lord Lonsdale, and he thankfully accepts it. The man-
ner in which Lord L. has done this favour is not less
gratifying than the favour itself.
Our rector, Mr. Merewether, is truly sorry to lose John,
yet disinterested enough to be glad of his advancement.
. . . He will remain here six months longer, and I of
course shall remain with him. In fact, if he had con-
tinued here another winter, I should have done so also ;
as, in the first place, I am more useful than I could be
anywhere else, and, in the second, am very comfortable.
The walk to the rectory and the hall at Coleorton is not
too long for a winter's morning call. Therefore we have
no want of society, and our fireside at home has never
been dull, or the evenings tediously long. It gives me
great satisfaction also to see that John does the duties of
his profession with zeal and cheerfulness, and is much
liked and respected by the parishioners. His congrega-
tions, notwithstanding the numerous dissenting meeting-
houses, are much increased.
Perhaps you know that we are on the borders of
Chamwood Forest. There is much fine rocky ground,
1 In 1828 John Wordsworth took holy orders, and lived first at
Coleorton as curate. Dorothy went to stay with him at Coleorton
on the 2 1 St of November, 1828. Later in the year he received from
Lord Lonsdale the living of Moresby, two and a half miles from
Whitehaven, whither he removed in 1829. — Ed.
354 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
but no trees ; the road dry in general, so it may be called
a good country for walkers. There is one hill from which
we have a most extensive prospect, twenty-one miles dis-
tant from us. The air is dry though cold (for we are at
a great height above the sea). . . . John was at Cam-
bridge last week, to be ordained priest; my brother
Christopher and my nephews are well, and in good spir-
its. . . . Five weeks have I been here, and not a single
rainy day. . . .
CCCCLXX
William Wordsworth to Abraham Hayward^
[No date; possibly 1828.]
I am not sure that I understand one expression in the
passage your obliging note refers to, viz., that society will
hereafter tolerate no such thing as literature, considered
merely as a creation of art. If this be meant to say that
any writer will be disappointed who expects a place in
the affections of posterity for works which have nothing
but their manner to recommend them, it is too obviously
true to require being insisted upon. But still such things
are not without their value, as they may exemplify with
liveliness (heightened by the contrast between the skill
and perfection of the manner, and the worthlessness of
the matter as matter merely) rules of art and workman-
ship, which must be applied to imaginative literature,
however high the subject, if it is to be permanently effi-
cient. . . .
1 Abraham Hay ward (1801-1884), editor of the Law Magatint,
or Quarterly Review of Jurisprudence ixom 1829 to 1844, translator of
Faust (1831) into English prose, and a voluminous literary essayist.
— Ed.
TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH 355
CCCCLXXI
William Wordsworth to Christopher Wordsworth ^
Rydal Mount, Friday, 1828.^
My dear Brother,
. . . Our expedition answered perfectly. Our route was
by steam from London to Ostend, by barge to Ghent, by
diligence to Brussels, by diligence to Namur, stopping
four hours at the field of Waterloo, up the Meuse (en
voiture) to Dinant, and back to Namur ; thence by barge
down the Meuse to Libge, en voiture to Spa, and by the
same conveyance to Aix-la-Chapelle and Cologne; thence
to Godesberg, two leagues above Bonn on the Rhine.
Here we halted a week, and thence up the Rhine, as
far as it is confined between the rocks, viz. to Bingen,
and down it by water to Godesberg again, having stopped
a day or two wherever we were tempted. At Godesberg
we remained nearly another week, and thence down the
Rhine to Nijmegen ; thence en voiture to Arnheim and
Utrecht, and by barge to Amsterdam, and so on through
Haarlem, Leyden, The Hague, Delft, to Rotterdam;
thence in steamboat to Antwerp, in diligence to Ghent,
and by barge again to Ostend, where we embarked for
London. ... On our return to the North we stopped a
fortnight with John, with whom his mother had resided
during our absence of nearly seven weeks ; and found
John happy in the quiet and solitude of Whitwick. . . .
I have been baffled in all my attempts to find a situation
1 His brother, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. — Ed.
* This imperfectly dated letter refers to the tour on the Rhine, in
Belgium, and in Holland, which Wordsworth took with his daughter
and S. T. Coleridge '*in the summer" of 1828. See his letter to
Joseph Cottle, Jan. 27, 1829. — Ed.
356 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
for William, so that after having taken him off from his
Greek, and remitted his Latin reading in some degree, I
am now obliged to turn my thoughts again to college.
With this view he must quit home for a year's prepara-
tion. I have written to Mr. Jackson to learn if he can
take him; if he cannot, I must place him somewhere
else, and should be glad of a suggestion from you on
the subject. . . .
CCCCLXXII
William Wordsworth to Allan Cunningham
Rydal Mount, Monday, [1828?]
My dear Friend,
I have this moment received your urgent letter; it
brings me to the point. My engagement with The Keep-
sake was for one hundred guineas for verses, not less than
twelve pages nor more than fifteen, and that I was to
contribute to no other work at a lower rate, but if any
editor would give as much, I was at liberty to take it
Now I think this engagement would be broken, and it
must seem so to you, should I accept your offer ; for ;^5o
for seven pages, could you or any one else afford to give
it, would, I think, be an evasion, as they pay for my name
fully as much as for my verses ; and this would sink in
value, according to the frequent use made of it.
Mr. Watts has also a prior claim to you, and I could
not accept one from you without giving him the refusal
of the same terms; though Mr. Watts has done a good
deal to cancel any claim upon him, by entertaining a
notion that I was not content with recommending The
Keepsake, but that I depreciated other works of the same
character. How he could suppose me capable of such
TO ALLAN CUNNINGHAM 357
indelicacy I cannot comprehend ; I never wrote or said
a word in depreciation of any particular annual in my
life, and all that I have done for The Keepsake was to say
among my acquaintances that I was a contributor, and
that if high prices given to writers could secure good
matter, it would be found in The Keepsake y but I added
frequently that it was far from certain that would be the
case.
You see then exactly how the matter stands. I would
most gladly meet your wishes as a iriend, — be assured
of this, — but I must not break my word ; and it is right
that poets should get what they can, as these annuals
cannot but greatly check the sale of their works, from
the large sums the public pay for them, which allows
little for other poetry.
Believe me, my dear sir.
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
^xS WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
\
\
1829
CCCCLXXIII
William W9rdswortk to Alexander Dyce
Rydal Mount, Kendal, Jan. 12, 1829.
Dear Sir,
That you are convinced ^ gives me great pleasure, as I
hope that every other editor of Collins will follow your
example. You are at perfect liberty to declare that you
have rejected Bell's copy in consequence of my opinion
of it ; and I feel much satisfaction in being the instrument
of rescuing the memory of Collins from this disgrace. I
have always felt some concern that Mr. Home, who Uved
several years after Bell's publication, did not testify more
regard for his deceased friend's memory by protesting
against this imposition. Mr. Mackenzie is still living,
and I shall shortly have his opinion upon the question;
and if it be at all interesting, I shall take the liberty of
sending it to you.
Dyer is another of our minor poets — minor as to
quantity — of whom one would wish to know more.
Particulars about him might still be collected I should
think in South Wales, his native country, and where in
early life he practised as a painter. I have often heard
* Mr. Dyce wrote: "I am convinced by what Mr. Wordsworth
remarked to me, that those portions of Collinses Ode on the Super-
stitions of the Highlanders^ which first appeared in Bell's edition of
that ode, were forgeries." — Ed.
TO ALEXANDER DYCE 359
Sir George Beaumont express a curiosity about his
pictures, and a wish, to see any specimen of his pencil
that might survive. If you are a rambler, perhaps you
may, at some time or other, be led into Carmarthenshire,
and might bear in mind what I have just said of this
excellent author.
I had once a hope to have learned some unknown
particulars of Thomson, around Jedburgh, but I was dis-
appointed. Had I succeeded, I meant to publish a short
life of him, prefixed to a volume containing The Seasons,
The Castle of Indolencey his minor pieces in rhyme, and
a few extracts from his plays, apd his Liberty ; and I feel
still inclined to do something of the kind. These three
writers, Thomson, Collins, and Dyer, had more poetic imag-
ination than any of their contemporaries, unless we reckon
Chatterton as of that age. I do not name Pope, for he
stands alone, as a man most highly gifted; but unluckily
he took the plain, when the heights were within his reach.
Excuse this long letter, and believe me,
Sincerely yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXIV
William Wordsworth to Barron Field
Rydal Mount, 19th January, 1829.
My dear Sir,
Thank you for the extract from the Quarterly, It is a
noble story. I remembered having read it ; but it is less
fit for a separate poem than to make part of a philosoph-
ical work. I will thank you for any notices from India,
though I own I am afraid of an Oriental story. I know
not that you will agree with me; but I have always
36o WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
thought that stories, where the scene is laid by our
writers in distant climes, are mostly hurt, and often have
their interest quite destroyed, by being overlaid with
foreign imagery ; as if the tale had been chosen for the
sake of the imagery only.
I remain.
Very faithfully yours,
W. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXV
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
Rydal Mount, Kendal,
19th January, [1829.]
My dear Sir,
... I was much pleased with a little drawing by Mr.
Edmund Field — exceedingly so, and I wrote opposite it
two stanzas which I hope he and Mrs. Field will pardon,
as I have taken a liberty with his name. The drawing is
admirably done, and of just such a scene as I delight in,
and my favourite rivers, the Duddon, Lowther, Derwent,
etc., abound in. . . .
CCCCLXXVI
William Wordsworth to Joseph Cottle'^
Rydal Mount, near Kendal,
27th January, 1829.
My dear Sir,
It is an age since you addressed a very kind letter to
me, and though I did not receive it till long after its
date, — being then upon the Continent, — I should have
^ The son of his old publisher at Bristol. — Ed.
TO JOSEPH COTTLE 36 1
replied to it much earlier, could I have done so to my
satisfaction. But you will recollect it probably. The
letter contained a request that I should address to you
some verses. I wished to meet this desire of yours ; but,
I know not how it is, I have ever striven in vain to write
verses upon subjects either proposed, or imposed. I hoped
to prove more fortunate on this occasion, but I have been
disappointed. And therefore I beg you to excuse me,
not imputing my failure to any want of inclination, or
even to the absence of poetic feeling connected with times
and places to which your letter refers. You will not be
hurt at this inability, when I tell you that I was once a
whole twelve-month occasionally employed in vain en-
deavour to write an inscription upon a suggested subject,
though it was to please one of my most valued friends.
I am glad to hear of your intended publication. The
Malvern Hills^ from which you gave me a valuable
extract, I frequently look at. It was always a favourite
of mine. Some passages — and especially one, closing
To him who slept at noon and wakes at eve —
I thought super-excellent.
I was truly glad to have, from Mrs. W. and my daughter,
so agreeable an account of your family, and to have this
account confirmed by your letter. I often think with
lively remembrance of the days I passed at Bristol, not
setting the least value on those passed under the roof of
your good father and mother.
Last week I spent at Keswick with Mr. Southey;
himself, his family, Mrs. Coleridge, and Sara, all well
except for colds, scarcely to be avoided at this severe
1 The Malvern Hillsy by Joseph Cottle, Sr., published in 1798.
— Ed.
362 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
season. S. was busy as usual, and in excellent spirits.
His son, about ten years of age, is a very fine youth, and
though not robust enjoys excellent health. Mrs. Level
was but poorly, indeed her health seems quite ruined.
You probably have heard that Coleridge was on the Con-
tinent, along with my daughter and myself, last summer.
The trip did him service, and though he was sometimes
a good deal indisposed, his health, upon the whole, was
for him not bad. Hartley lives in our neighbourhood.
We see him, but not very often. He writes a good deal,
and is about (I understand) to publish a volume of
poems. You know that he is not quite so steady as his
friends would wish. I must now conclude with the kind-
est regards, in which my daughter joins with Mrs. Words-
worth (my sister is in Leicestershire) to yourself, and your
sisters, and nieces. And believe me, my dear friend.
Very faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXVII
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, 27th January, 1829.
My dear Friend,
What an odd view do you take of the stability of human
life! "I accept your invitation" — these words set us
all agog; we looked for you in ten days at most; then
comes — " after my return from Germany, from Italy, and
the Holy Land " ; but that did not follow, as it well 'might
have done. Within the course of the last fortnight I have
heard of the death of two among the most valued of my
schoolfellows, — Godfrey Sykes, solicitor of the Stamp
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 363
Office, and Mr. Calvert,^ probably unknown to you by
name, — so we are thinned off. But you live in the light of
hope, and you are in the right, as long as you can; but
why not run down for a fortnight or three weeks? We
should be so glad to see you! and really the absence you
talk of is a little formidable to a man so near sixty as I
am. About ten days ago I had a pop visit of ten minutes
from Courtenay the barrister, who had been at Cocker-
mouth Sessions. I recurred to the Law-Life Insurance,
which you will recollect we all talked about together. He
continues to affirm that it is a most excellent investment.
Now I am expecting every week a legacy of one hundred
and sixty to Mrs. Wordsworth. I do not wish to touch this
money, but should like to make it up to two hundred, and
invest it in this way for her benefit in case of my decease.
Mr. C. says that no interest will be received for four or five
years ; and you will recollect that you offered to lend your
name, as the insurance must be in the name of some
barrister whose honour may be depended upon. Will you
be kind enough to call upon him, 23 Montagu Street,
Russell Square, and settle the affair with him if you deem
it an eligible thing, of which I suppose there is little doubt?
The money shall be forthcoming at Masterman's Bank
as soon as required. Should you disapprove of the
intended insurance, pray let me know, with your reasons.
I had a letter the other day from Mr. Richard Sharp,
of the comer of Park Lane, Upper Grosvenor Street, and
of Mansion House Place, about business ; which I was
obliged to reply to in so great a hurry that I overlooked
a notice of my son's position upon the list of candidates
for the Athenaeum. I do not like to trouble him with
1 William Calvert, brother of Raisley Calvert, his early benefac-
tor.— Ed.
364 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
another letter till I have an opportunity of a frank, which
may not be shortly; therefore should you be passing
either of these places, but not else, will you be kind
enough to step in, and leave upon a slip of paper, that my
son being beneficed in Cumberland, there is no proba-
bility of an election to the Athenseum being of the least
use to him, so that his name may be removed from the
list of candidates. I shall have a letter to Mr. Sharp to
this effect ready for the first opportunity.
I have seen the article in Blackwood alluded to in
your last; it is undoubtedly from the pen of Mr. Wilson
himself. He is a perverse mortal, not to say worse of
him. Have you peeped into his Trials of Margaret
Lindsay ? ^ You will there see to what an extent he has
played the plagiarist with the very tale of Margaret in
Tke Excursion which he abuses ; and you will also, with
a glance, learn what passes with him for poetical Chris-
tianity. More mawkish stuff I never encountered. I
certainly should think it beneath me to notice that article
in any way ; my friends and admirers, I hope, will take
the same view of it. Mr. W.'s pen must be kept going
at any rate, I am at a loss to know why, but so it is ; he
is well paid, twice as much, I am told, as any other con-
tributor. In the same number of Blackwood is an article
upon Rhetoric, undoubtedly from De Quincey. What-
ever he writes is worth reading. . . . Last week I passed
with Southey — well (except for a cold), busy as usual.
He is about to publish a book, two volumes of dialogues
between the ghost of Sir Thomas More* and Montesino
himself. It is an interesting work, and I hope will attract
some attention. But periodicals appear to have swallowed
1 Published in 1823. — Ed.
2 In 1829 he published Sir Thomas More. — Ed.
TO CORRESPONDENT UNKNOWN 365
so much money that there is none left for more respectable
literature. You advert to critics that don't deal fairly with
me. I do not blame them ; they write as they feel, and
that their feelings are no better they cannot help. The
other set of critics, like Gifford, had he been alive, had
their classical prejudices ; and for the younger I am not
poetical enough, they require higher seasoning than I give.
Don't mind franks in writing to me, that is, never put
off because you have not a cover ; I wish I had one for
this, but here they are rarely to be had. . . .
Your grateful and affectionate
W. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXVIII
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
Rydal Mount, i6th March, 1829.
Sir,
. . . More work and, less pay, prolonged service and
diminished salary, are sureljTthe reverse of a dictate of
natural justice, and this the Treasury knew as well, and
some of them perhaps as feelingly, as we do. . . .
W. Wordsworth.
CCGCLXXIX
William Wordsworth to E. H, Barker
Rydal Mount, April 23, 1829.
Sir,
In the 380th page of the second volume of the last
edition of my Poems (1827), you will find a notice of the
poetry printed by Macpherson under the name of Ossian,
366 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
in which it is pronounced to be in a great measure spu-
rious, and in the fourth volume of the same edition,
page 238, is a poem, in which the same opinion is given.
I am not at present inclined, nor probably ever shall
be, to enter into a detail of the reasons which have led
me to this conclusion. Something is said upon the sub-
ject in the first of the passages, to which I have taken
the liberty of referring you. Notwithstanding the censure,
you will see proofs — both in page 238, and in page 15 of
the third volume of the same edition — that I consider
myself much indebted to Macpherson, as having made
the English public acquainted with the traditions concern-
ing Ossian and his age. Nor would I withhold from
him the praise of having preserved many fragments of
Gaelic poetry, which without his attention to the subject
might perhaps have perished. Most of these, however,
are more or less corrupted by the liberties he has taken
in the mode of translating them. I need scarcely say
that it will give me pleasure to receive the volume,^ in
which you have given your reasons for an opinion on
this subject differing from my own.
I remain, sir, faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXX
William Wordsworth to an English Prelate unknown
1829.
. . . The condition of Ireland is indeed, and long has
been, wretched. Lamentable is it to acknowledge that
the mass of her people are so grossly uninformed, and
^ Parriana, by E. H. Barker, Esq., of Thetford, Norfolk,
Vol. II, p. 758. — Ed.
TO AN ENGLISH PRELATE UNKNOWN 367
from that cause subject to such delusions and passions,
that they would destroy each other were it not for
restraints put upon them by a power out of themselves.
This power it is that protracts their existence in a state
for which otherwise the course of Nature would provide
a remedy by reducing their numbers through mutual
destruction, so that English civilisation may fairly be
said to have been the shield of Irish barbarism. And
now these swarms of degraded people, which could not
have existed but through the neglect and misdirected
power of the sister island, are, by a withdrawal of that
power, to have their own way, and to be allowed to dic-
tate to us. A population vicious in character and unnatu-
ral in immediate origin (for it has been called into birth
by short-sighted landlords set upon adding to the number
of voters at their command, and by priests, who for lucre's
sake favour the increase of marriage) is held forth as
constituting a claim to political power, strong in propor-
tion to its numbers ; though, in a sane view, that claim
is in an inverse ratio to them. Brute force, indeed,
wherever lodged, as we are too feelingly taught at pres-
ent, must be measured and met ; measured with care,
in order to be met with fortitude.
The chief proximate causes of Irish misery and igno-
rance are Popery — of which I have said so much — and
the tenure and management of landed property ; and both
these have a common origin, viz. the imperfect conquest
of the country. The countries subjected by the ancient
Romans, and those that in the Middle Ages were sub-
dued by the northern tribes, afford striking instances of
the several ways in which nations may be improved by
foreign conquests. The Romans, by their superiority in
arts and arms, and, in the earlier period of their history,
368 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
in virtues also, may seem to have established a moral right
to force their institutions upon other nations, whether
under a process of decline, or emerging from barbarism ;
and this they effected, we all know, not by overrunning
countries as eastern conquerors have done, — and Buona-
parte, in our own days, — but by completing a regular
subjugation, with military roads and garrisons, which
became centres of civilisation for the surrounding dis-
trict Nor am I afraid to add — though the fact might be
caught at, as bearing against the general scope of my argu-
ment — that both conquerors and conquered owed much
to the participation of civil rights which the Romans lib-
erally communicated. The other mode of conquest, that
pursued by the northern nations, brought about its bene-
ficial effects by the settlement of a hardy and vigorous
people among the distracted and effeminate nations
against whom their incursions were made. The con-
querors transplanted with them their independent and
ferocious spirit, to reanimate exhausted communities;
and in their turn received a salutary mitigation, till in
process of time the conqueror and conquered, having a
common interest, were lost in each other. To neither of
these modes was unfortunate Ireland subject; and her
insular territory — by physical obstacles, and still more
by moral influences arising out of them — has aggravated
the evil consequent upon independence, lost as hers was.
The writers of the time of Queen Elizabeth have pointed
out how unwise it was to transplant among a barbarous
people, not half subjugated, the institutions that time
had matured among those who too readily considered
themselves masters of that people. It would be pre-
sumptuous in me to advert in detail to the long-lived
hatred that has perverted the moral -sense in Ireland,
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 369
obstructed religious knowledge, and denied to her a due
share of English refinement and civility. It is enough
to observe that the Reformation was ill supported in that
country, and that her soil became, through frequent for-
feitures, mainly possessed by men whose hearts were not
in the land where their wealth lay. . . .
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXXI
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, Kendal, April 26th, 1829.
My dear Friend,
Dora holds the pen for me. I have been unable either
to read, or write. A third privation, full as grievous, is
necessary cessation from the amusement of composition,
and almost of thought.
You cannot consult a better travelling guide than
Mr. Sharp. I would go nowhere where he has been
without the benefit of his experience. Would that we
could join you in Rome ! but till my son William is pro-
vided for, the hope cannot be encouraged. My sister-in-
law Miss Joanna Hutchinson, and her brother Henry,
an ex-sailor, are about to embark at the Isle of Man for
Norway, to remain till July. Were I not tied by the
Stamp Office I should certainly accompany them. As
far as I can look back I discern in my mind imaginative
traces of Norway. The people are said to be simple,
and worthy; and Nature is magnificent. I have heard
Sir H. Davy affirm that there is nothing equal to some
of the ocean inlets of that region ; and lastly, the very
small expense would suit my finances.
370 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
This last word brings me to money. Following the
example of my kind friend Mr. Sharp, I have sold out
of the French funds, and in consequence have £2^$j
lying in the Kendal Bank at 2^ per cent; this money I
am most anxious to lodge upon some unexceptionable
security, if possible at the rate of 4^ per cent. If not,
I must descend in my expectations to 4. My wish is to
renounce all speculation and to be secure from a fall in
the principal, for the sake of those whom I may leave
behind. Mr. Sharp has kindly stated to me the sup-
posed advantages and disadvantages of reinvestment in
funds French or English. The interest in either case
is something under 4 per cent, but with regard to the
French 3*s, there is a possibility of a rise in the principal.
This, however, I would waive, and am inclined to prefer
the English 4*s if I can do no better; but here I fear
a decline in the principal, which — our fortune being
so small — would be mortifying, after having gained
from interest and principal upwards of ;^iooo on ;£"i8oo
since 1820.
It would have been a great joy to us to have seen you,
though upon a melancholy occasion. You talk of the
more than chance of your being absent upwards of two
years. I am sorry for it on my own account, the more
so as I have entered on my sixtieth year. Strength must
be failing and snappings off (as the danger my dear sister
has just escaped lamentably proves) ought not to be
long out of sight.
What a shock that was to our poor hearts ! Were she
to depart, the phase of my moon would be robbed of light
to a degree that I have not courage to think of. During
her illness we often thought of your high esteem for her
goodness, and of your kindness towards her upon all
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 371
>ccasions. Our last account was of the 19th. That
norning she had been out in the garden for ten minutes ;
md we know that, if she had not been going on well since,
ve should certainly have heard. We look for a letter in
:ourse to-morrow. Mrs, Wordsworth is still with her,
tnd I have entreated her to stay ten days more. Dora is
ny house-keeper, and did she not hold the pen it would run
vild in her praises. Sara Coleridge, one of the loveliest
ind best of creatures, is with me, so that I am an enviable
>erson, notwithstanding our domestic impoirerishment.
^rs. Coleridge is here also ; and, if pity and compassion
or others' anxieties were a sweet sensation, I might be
envied on that account also, for I have enough of it.
I have nothing to say of books (newspapers having
employed all the voices I could command), except that
:he first volume of Smith's ^ Nolkkens and his Times has
t>een read to me, and I am indignant at the treachery
that pervades it. Smith was once very civil to me, offer-
ing to show me anything in the museum at any and all
times when he was disengaged. I suppose he would
have made a prey of me, as he has done of all his
acquaintances, of which I had at that time no suspicion,
having thought myself not a little obliged to him for his
offer. There are, however, some anecdotes in the book.
The one which made most impression on me was that of
Re3molds, who is reported to have taken — from the print
of a half-penny ballad in the street — an effect in one of
his pictures, which pleased him more than anything he
had produced.
If you were here I might be tempted to talk with you
about the Duke's "settling" of the Catholic question.
1 Nollekens and his Titnes^ by John Thomas Smith (1829). — Ed.
372 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
Yet why ? for you are going to Rome, the very centre of
light, and can have no occasion for my farthing candle.
My kindest regards to the Lambs. Tell them about my
sister, and say that I have long wished to write to Charles,
and will certainly do so, as soon as I recover the use
of my eyes for a little reading ; which will be necessary
for his play, and for the books he sent me, before I can
make acknowledgments to my wish. Dora joins me in
affectionate regards. She is a staunch anti-Papist, in a
woman's way, and perceives something of the retributive
hand of justice in your rheumatism; but, nevertheless,
like a true Christian, she prays for your speedy convales-
cence.
Ever most faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXXII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
[April, 1829.]
My dear Friend,
I cannot help slipping a note into a frank for London
to thank you for your very kind letter, which makes me
not quite hopeless of having a sight of you before I quit
the midland part of England. Yet perhaps I ought not
to hope in this case, as it seems if I do see you it will
be at the expense of a long, perhaps tedious, and cer-
tainly to you melancholy, journey into Scotland. At all
events, however, I may lawfully be pleased that if you
should have this journey to take, you will remember me
and the curate of Whitwick, and turn aside to our lowly
vicarage.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 373
I must have expressed myself with strange obscurity
(but I wrote in great haste), since you have understood
me as asking for a sketch-letter concerning your journey
to the Pyrenees. If I said anything about a full account
of that journey, it was not as drawn up for my particular
use and pleasure, but in connexion with your previous
more detailed tours, which with that of the Pyrenees also,
I hope — now that you are aloof from the cares of the
Courts of Justice — you will arrange and amplify, and at
some time publish. I do not recollect what I said, but
the above is what I have often thought of ; and, in fact,
I had received your very interesting Pyrenean sketch
and, in the ambiguous words of that hurried letter, meant
to thank you for it. It is of no use to rake up in your
mind the contents of my (I fear too careless) letters, still
less to hunt for them in your bureau ; so, my dear friend,
accept my thanks for this last and all former favours.
The blunder gives me no uneasiness, being well satisfied
that your friendship does not hang on trifles of punctilio
like these ; so no more on this subject.
Probably before this reaches you you may have heard
of the last honour bestowed upon my bright and amiable
nephew, Christopher Wordsworth, the appointment to the
Craven Scholarship. You may be sure that his good
father and all of us were made very happy last Monday
morning, when the unanimous decision of the examiners
was pronounced. He had already received honours, and
prizes, sufficient to satisfy youthful ambition ; but this is,
besides the honour, an affair worthy of consideration, viz.
£^0 per annum for seven years. He does not intend to
enter for the summer (the Brownonian) medals; and I
believe not for any, not even the Chancellor's medal, for
English verse. This I am glad of, as it will leave him
374 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
time, if he have resolution, to apply sufficiently to the
mathematics, to obtain such a rank in the Mathematical
Tripos as will enable him to strive for a place in the Clas-
sical, which his brother John has been excluded from, by
being utterly unable to do anything in mathematics. I
said I am glad of Christopher's determination for the
above reason, but also on other accounts. It is surely very
discouraging to the competitors when one is sure to cany
away all that he strives for, which in Christopher's case
has hitherto always happened.
I assure you he is not in the least elated by the con-
gratulations he receives. Quite the contrary. He is very
humble-minded, and one of the happiest and cheerfulest
of human beings. I have good accounts from Rydal.
John is now on his road thence to Whitwick, where I
shall join him next Wednesday. William will accompany
him on his way to London, whence he will depart in
April with a Mr. Papendich, under whose care he is to
remain for one year at Bremen, to learn the German and
French languages, and I hope improve himself in other
points. I have said William will be on his road to Lon-
don; but in fact he will stay with us at Whitwick till
summoned to London, at the time that Mr. Papendich
is ready to sail for Germany. I had intended leaving
Cambridge to-morrow, but have been tempted to stay
where I am so happy and comfortable until Tuesday
morning, when I shall take coach to Leicester, sleep
there, and the next morning proceed by the Ashby-de-
la-Zouch coach to Hugglescote (within two miles of Whit-
wick), whence I shall walk to W., leaving my luggage at H.
I mention this as a guidance for you in case you should
visit us in your way from London. Should you take us
on your return, you must stop at Loughborough, seven
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 375
miles from Whitwick. But when the time comes, of
course you will apprise us, and I will again give you
precise directions. . . .
Yours affectionately,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXXIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
[May 2, 1829.]
My dear Friend,
Your letter, which by some strange mistake was directed
to me at Rydal instead of Whitwick, has just reached me,
with a few words upon it by my niece, telling me that her
father had written to you. From him you will have heard
all particulars respecting where the dispersed of the family
are, what doing, and what intending, and this I am glad
of, not having time or room for a long letter. It drew
tears from my eyes to read of your affectionate anxiety
concerning me. In fact it is the first time in my life of
fifty-six years in which I have had a serious illness ; there-
fore I never before had an opportunity of knowing how
much some distant friends cared about me. Friends
abroad — friends at home — all have been anxious; and
more so, far more I am sure, than I deserve; but I
attribute much of this to my having been so remarkably
strong and healthy. It came like a shock to every one, to
be told of a dangerous illness having attacked me. I am
now, through God's mercy, perfectly restored to health
and almost to strength ; but quiet care, for a time at least,
I am assured is necessary; and indeed my own frame
admonishes me that it is. But for the sake of my kind
376 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
friends I am bound to take care, and I promise them all,
including you who will be far away from us, that I will
be neither rash nor negligent. Indeed I never can forget
what I suffered myself, nor the anxiety of those around
me. My nephew William was the tenderest nurse pos-
sible. It would have moved anybody's heart to see him.
But enough of this subject. He is still at Whitwick, and
we hear nothing of Mr. Papendich's arrival in England;
but I think we shall part from William finally in a week.
His uncle wishes to see him at Cambridge. There he will
stay a short while, and proceed to London, where he will
take up his quarters with Mr. Quillinan (to whom, if you
see him, give my kind love, and tell him I am deeply sen-
sible of the interesft I know he has taken concerning me).
I am not hopeless of William's having the good fortune
to see you before your departure. Yours is dated the 27th,
and you say in about ten days you shall go into Suffolk,
pay the Clarksons a visit, and return to London. I wish
this may catch you before your departure for Suffolk,
indeed I expect it will ; otherwise I should not have
troubled you with the enclosure for Rydal. You must know
we sent a letter there yesterday, and to-day Dora's little
note arrives (written in yours), and there is something in
it which it is better to answer immediately, yet we cannot
find it in our hearts to tax her with a second shilling; so,
recollecting that you can almost command franks through
your loyal friends, I take the chance, and shall be much
obliged to you and the worthy alderman if by your joint
services it can be forwarded. ... I wish you would now
and then write to us when you are abroad. How long
do you mean to stay? God grant that we may all be
alive and in good health at your return ! And what a joy-
ful welcome we shall give you at Rydal Mount 1 If my
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 377
brother ever should be able to take us into Italy, we shall
call on you to fulfil your promise of accompanying us, and
what an accomplished guide you will be.
Your affectionate friend,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXXIV
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
[May 18, 1829.]
My dear Friend,
Mrs. W. holds the pen for me, having returned from
Whitwick, where last Monday she left our dear sister
improving gradually.
I am almost ashamed to trouble you about my concerns,
now that you must be so busy in settling your own. I
have heard from Mr. Courtenay to-day, and he gives so
flattering an account of the Law-Lives that, notwithstand-
ing the rise, I mean to avail myself of yoUr kind offer.
His words are, " I firmly believe that Law-Life shares will
pay you, if bought at any price under £\ i per share, will
pay excellent interest — though nothing will be touched
for the first four years — but the property will be increas-
ing, etc."
I have therefore placed ;^3oo at your disposal in Mas-
terman's Bank, and I beg you will take the trouble of
going through the forms necessary to effect for me this
security, not omitting such considerations as will naturally
suggest themselves to a lawyer about to reside a couple
of years in foreign parts. I am most sincere in the
expression of my regret at imposing so much trouble
378 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
upon you at this time, and am also truly thankful for your
last interesting letter. Will it tend in any way to repay
you, if Mrs. W. transcribes the opinion of Mr. Rathbone,
the first American merchant in Liverpool, upon American I
securities ?
"I can only say that my opinion is very favourable.
Their habits of legislature are economical ; they are not
troubled with any refined feeling that should make them
give any one of their public servants one farthing more
than they think his services worth. In their public en-
gagements they have been very punctual; their rapid
improvement in public wealth has left them without
temptation to be otherwise ; and their States to the west-
ward are growing with such accelerated increase in popu-
lation that I consider the security, either of the stock of
the States or of the Federation, as undoubted. The rate
of interest must depend upon the rate of exchange
at which the dividends are remitted, which varies from
8 to 12 per cent. My sister has some money in stocks of
the United States by our advice. Some of the stocks are
more saleable than others, which is an object of consider-
ation to those who may want their money ; but where
income is the object, some of the heavy stocks pay the
best interest. The Ohio stock is one of these latter. Of
the Louisiana I can only speak generally, not particularly.
It is, however, a rapidly increasing State."
Against the above opinion, which was asked for in con-
sequence of your letter, I have nothing to say but that
Mr. Rathbone, being a Quaker, may be somewhat biassed
towards the Americans. Mr. Courtenay, in conclusion,
says : " He should be sorry to risk the welfare of those dear
to him by investment in French funds," and, as his final
opinion, bids me look out for a good mortgage in England.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 379
He says, " I should prefer that to any other security."
This is what I — W. W. — wish for ; but where am I to
find it?
If I excursionize at all this summer, it will be by steam
to Staffa, lona, etc. ; but I wish I had seen Rome, Flor-
ence, and the Bay of Naples. I have not opened a book
for nine weeks — a fine holiday I Have you seen Southey's
Colloquies ? If so, how do you like them ? Pray effect a
meeting with my son William, who will be at Mr. Quilli-
nan's in a few days ; write him a note, and he will call
upon you when and wherever you may appoint. Would
we might tempt you to come down for a fortnight, and
join Dora and myself in a tour to the Duddon, etc, which
we meditate. Farewell. Mary and Dora join me in best
wishes.
Sincerely yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXXV
William Wordsworth to Sir George Beaumont
Rydal Mount, Sunday, July 19, 1829.
My dear Sir George,
Last night Mr. Drummond arrived, and brought your
very kind letter. The mournful event ^ which occasioned
it, I was instantly informed of by the care — for which I
was truly thankful — of Mr. Knight, and Mr. Merewether.
The shock was very painful, and would have been
still more so had we received it first through the public
papers.
■
1 The death of his mother, the dowager Lady Beaumont, wife of
Sir George, the artist. — £d.
380 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
It is seven and twenty years since I first became ac-
quainted with the lamented pair whom we have lost We
soon became united in affectionate intercourse, which has
known no abatement, but our friendship rather strength-
ened with time, and will survive in my heart till it ceases
to beat In the recently deceased we have lost one of
the most disinterested and pure-minded of human beings.
Abundant proofs have I had, my dear Sir George, how
strongly attached she was to you, and from the depths of
my heart I condole with you and Lady Beaumont in this
bereavement ; but she was ripe for the change, blessed be
God ! and I trust is, or is destined to be, a glorified spirit
We were sorry to learn from Mr. Drummond that your
own health had suffered under this trial. I should be
glad to hear that nothing of the kind recurred from what
you have yet to go through at Coleorton. The funeral
will be to-morrow; may you be supported through it!
Mr. Drummond tells me that Mr. Merewether has in his
possession a paper, dated so far back as 18 16, signifying
the wish of the departed upon this and some other points;
which leads me to remember that when Lady Beaumont
conducted Mrs. Wordsworth and myself to the monument
of Sir George, she said, " You observe there is just room
for my name below"; but whether she meant on the
same tablet, neither of us could venture to ask ; but you
may have more recent instructions.
We are most anxious to hear how my poor sister bears
these afflicting tidings. She is at Halifax, in Yorkshire,
where she was left by my son recovering from the effects
of her late dangerous illness. Thankful at all events will
she be that her dear friend's time of suffering was so
short, and that she passed several days with her and
Mrs. Willes so lately.
TO BARRON FIELD 38 1
Along with my condolence, in which Mrs. Wordsworth
and my daughter join, to Lady Beaumont, present my
sincere regards, and believe me, my dear Sir George,
Faithfully, your much obliged
William Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXXVI
William Wordsworth to Barron Field
Rydal Mount.
My dear Sir,
It gives me great pleasure that your destiny is changed.
Gibraltar is rather a confined situation; but I hope it
may agree with your health, and Mrs. Field's. It cannot
but be greatly preferable to India, and is so much nearer
home that it seems a good deal more probable that we
may meet again than if your station had been the East.
Take our best wishes, and God bless you. I remain.
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth,
CCCCLXXXVII
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
R.YDAL Mount, July 24, 1829.
... I wish to make a tour in Ireland, perhaps, along
with my daughter ; but I am ignorant of so many points,
— as where to begin — whether it be safe at this rioting
382 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
period — what is best worth seeing — what mode of trav-
elling will furnish the greatest advantages at the least
expense. Dublin, of course, the Wicklow Mountains, Kil-
larney Lakes, and, I think, the ruins not far from Limerick
would be among my objects, returning by the North. . . .
It is time to thank you for the verses you so obligingly
sent me. Your sister's have abundance of spirit and
feeling ; all that they want is what appears in itself of
little moment, and yet is incalculably great, that is,
workmanship, the art by which the thoughts are made
to melt into each other, and to fall into light and shadow,
regulated by distinct preconception of the best general
effect they are capable of producing. This may seem
very vague to you, but by conversation I think I could
make it appear otherwise. It is enough for the present
to say that I was much gratified, and beg you will thank
your sister for favouring me with the sight of composi-
tions so distinctly marked with that quality which is the
subject of them, viz. Genius, Your own verses are to
me very interesting, and affect me much as evidences of
high- and pure-mindedness, from which humble-minded-
ness is inseparable. I like to see and think of you among
the stars, and between death and immortality, where three
of these poems place you. The Dream of Chivalry is also
interesting in another way ; but it would be insincere not
to say that something of a style more terse, and a har-
mony more accurately balanced, must be acquired before
the bodily form of your verses will be quite worthy of
their living souls. You are probably aware of this,
though perhaps not in an equal degree with myself ; nor
is it desirable you should be, for it might tempt you to
labour which would divert you from subjects of infinitely
greater importance.
TO GEORGE HUNTLY GORDON 383
Many thanks for your interesting account of Mr. Edge-
worth. I heartily concur with you in the wish that
neither Plato, nor any other author, may lead him from
the truths of the Gospel, without which our existence is
an insupportable mystery to the thinking mind.
Looking for a reply at your early convenience,
I remain, my dear sir.
Faithfully, your obliged
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXXVIII
William Wordsworth to George Huntly Gordon ^
Rydal Mount, July 29, 1829.
My dear Sir,
I hope you have enjoyed yourself in the country, as we
have been doing among our shady woods, and green hills,
and invigorating streams. The summer is passing on, and
I have not left home, and perhaps shall not ; for it is far
more from duty than inclination that I quit my dear and
beautiful home, and duty pulls two ways. On the one
side my mind stands in need of being fed by new objects
for meditation and reflection, the more so because dis-
eased eyes have cut me off so much from reading ; and,
on the other hand, I am obliged to look at the expense
of distant travelling, as I am not able to take so much
out of my body by walking as heretofore.
1 have not got my MS. back from the ,' whose
managers have, between them, used me shamefully; but
• 1 Of His Majesty's Stationery Office. — Ed.
2 An annual, to which he had been induced to become a contrib-
utor. — Ed.
384 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
my complaint is principally of the editor, for with the
proprietor I have had little direct connection. If you
think it worth while, you shall, at some future day, see
such parts of the correspondence as I have preserved.
Mr. Southey is pretty much in the same predicament
with them, though he has kept silence for the present. . . .
I am properly served for having had any connection
with such things. My only excuse is, that they offered
me a very liberal sum, and that I have laboured hard
through a long life without more pecuniary emolument
than a lawyer gets for two special retainers, or a public
performer sometimes for two or three songs. Farewell.
Pray let me hear from you at your early convenience.
And believe me faithfully.
Your much obliged
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCLXXXIX
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
Patterdale, August 4, 1829.
I am truly obliged by your prompt reply to my letter, ,^
and your kind invitation, which certainly strengthens in V^
no small degree my wish to put my plan of visiting Ireland
into execution. At present I am at Patterdale, on my
way to Lord Lonsdale's, where I shall stay till towards the
conclusion of the week, when I purpose to meet my wife
and daughter on their way to my son's at Whitehaven ; j^
and if I can muster courage to cross the Channel, and
the weather be tolerable, I am not without hope of em-
barking Friday after next. This is Monday, August 4th;
TO WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON 385
I believe every Friday the steamboat leaves Whitehaven
for the Isle of Man. Whether it proceeds directly to
Dublin or not, I do not know, but probably it does. I do
not think it very probable that my daughter will accom-
pany me, yet she may do so ; and I sincerely thank you,
in her name and my own, for the offer of your hospi-
talities, which, as we are utter strangers in Dublin,
will be highly prized by us. Believe me, my dear Mr.
Hamilton,
Most sincerely, your much obliged
W. Wordsworth.
ccccxc
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
Whitehaven, August 15, 1829.
. . . The steamboat has been driven ashore here, so
that I could not have gone in her to Dublin. But my
plans had been previously changed. My present inten-
tion is to start with Mr. Marshall, M.P. for Yorkshire,
who gives me a seat in his carriage, for Holyhead, on the
24th inst; so that by the 27th or 28th we reckon upon
being in Dublin, when I shall make my way to the
Observatory, leaving him and his son to amuse them-
selves in the city, where he purposes to stop three days ;
which time, if convenient, I should be happy to be your
guest. We then proceed upon a tour of the island by Cork,
Bantry, Killarney, Limerick, etc., up to the Giant's Cause-
way, and return by Portpatrick. . . .
386 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCCXCI
William Wordsworth to Henry Robinson^
Sea View, Whitehaven,
Saturday, August 15th, [1829.]
My dear Sir,
I have no objection whatever to advance ;£'2ooo upon
unobjectionable security, and therefore will thank you to
let me know the particulars, with your judgment there-
upon, as speedily as you can. I remain here till this day
•^ week, so that, if you can address me here, pray do. On
Saturday I return to Rydal, and remain there till Sunday
evening, when I depart upon a tour which might make it
more difficult to communicate with me. About the 27th
or 28th inst. I shall be in Dublin, where a letter ad-
dressed Post Office, under cover to John Marshall, Esq.,
M. P., will find me; but I hope it will be convenient for
you to write me to this place.
I remain, dear sir, faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXCII
William Wordsworth to Christopher Wordsworth
Wexford, Ireland,
Saturday, September 5th, [1829.]
My dear Brother,
If you have not heard from others of my move-
ments you will be surprised at the date of this. . . .
My quarters were at the Observatory four or five miles
from Dublin, with Professor Hamilton, a young man of
1 Henry Robinson, solicitor, York. — Ed.
TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH 387
extraordinary genius, the successor of Dr. Brinkley. In
the course of two days I saw as much of Dublin as I
wished, all the public buildings inside and out, Trinity
College, — its hall, library, various MSB., etc., including
the Fagel collection, 20,000 volumes, for which during
the French Revolution the college gave between eight
and ten thousand pounds, — the bank, formerly the Par-
liament House, etc. We left Dublin on Wednesday at
noon, and have since seen all the crack places of the
Wicklow Mountains and country, the Devil's glen ex-
cepted. The scenery is certainly charming, and either
for residence or occasional touring from Dublin must be
delightful. But I have yet seen nothing in Ireland com-
parable to what we have in Wales, Scotland, and among
our Lakes. The celebrated vale of Avoca and the glen
of the Dargle are both rich in beauty, the latter in char-
acter something between Wharfdale and Fascally in the
Highlands, where the Garry and the Tummel meet below
the pass of Killiecrankie ; superior to Wharfdale, but yet
in a greater degree inferior to the Scotch scenes. You
have heai:d probably of the "Seven Churches.** This
ground, so famous for the miracles of St. Kevin, we vis-
ited, and were highly interested ; a deep valley with two
lochs or pools, the one of the serpent unholy, in which no
one will bathe, and the other sacred. Near three of the
churches, .of which alone considerable remains are left,
stands a very lofty round pillar, very much like a light-
house, but (as are the churches) of extreme antiquity.
While we were looking round upon this sad, solemn, and
romantic scene, with a train of poor hangers-on and our
guide, a woman about thirty years of age passed, bearing
a sickly child in her arms. Mr. Olway, a Protestant
clergyman, who along with Professor Hamilton had
388 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
kindly come from Dublin to meet us here, knowing
what she must be about, put to her some questions ; from
which we learned that she was going to dip the child in a
part of the stream called Kevin's pool, to cure its lame-
ness. She had already come four long miles to do this;
a trouble she had taken three times already, and said
her prayers nine times, kneeling on four corners of the
rocks in the bed of the river in succession. Afterwards
I went to see this pool. Near it stands a sacred thorn,
which I found covered with innumerable little rags of
linen cloth, small slips, hung there to wear away in the
weather, from a belief that, as the rags consume, the dis-
ease will abate also. It would have affected you very
much to see this poor confiding creature, and to hear the
manner in which she expressed her faith in the goodness
of God and St. Kevin. What would one not give to see
among Protestants such devout reliance on the mercy of
their Creator, so much resignation, so much piety, so much
simplicity and singleness of mind, purged of the accom-
panying superstitions ! The tenderness with which she
spoke of the child and its sufferings, and the sad pleas-
ure with which she detailed the progress it had made
towards recovery, would have moved the most insensible ;
but, after all, her resignation to the event, be it what it
might, was uppermost. . . .
We are at Killarney, balked by a wet day. We have
seen Waterford, the banks of the Suir, and the Black
Water, from four or five miles below Lismore Castle to
Fermoy, thence to Cork, of which the harbour is most
beautifully gay and rich. With the scenery in Ireland,
excepting what could be seen of Killarney from one point
of view yesterday, and what we have caught a glimpse of
this morning, I am upon the whole disappointed; not
TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH 389
with the county of Wicklow, but all the rest, except this
truly enchanting neighbourhood, for such it seems. But
how mortifying this vile weather ! . . . This region
appears deserving of all the praise that has been lav-
ished upon it. . . . The condition of the lower orders
is indeed abject, as you well know. But there are every-
where, more or less scattered, symptoms of improvement,
and in some places great advances have been made.
... I am inclined to think less unfavourably of the
disposition of the upper ranks of Catholics to exalt
their Church, however much they may wish ours to be
depressed. They have been mortified by the power of
the priests ; but still they have sufficient motives of a
temporal nature for hostility to our Church. . . .
Yours, most affectionately,
W. W.
CCCCXCIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Marshall
15th September, [1829.]
... On Wednesday Dora arrived from Keswick, where
she had been officiating, with seven more young ladies,
as bridesmaid to her friend Sara Coleridge. . . . She is
as lively as a lark, and is going to Coniston with the
bride and bridegroom, who have been staying with us
since Thursday, a very interesting pair. They are to
leave us to-morrow (Wednesday) and on Thursday Mrs.
Coleridge (the mother) will come to us to stay till Mon-
day morning ; when she is to depart for Halston in Corn-
wall, on a visit to her son Derwent, who is settled there
as curate and schoolmaster. Mrs, Coleridge will be
390 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
brought hither by a Miss Trevenan, a parishioner of
Derwent's, a very wealthy lady, travelling in her own
carriage, who will take Mrs. C. into Cornwall, after spend-
ing a day with us. I am glad to tell you of any good for-
tune attending S. T. Coleridge's sons. I will therefore
add that this lady is even quite the patroness of Derwent,
stood godmother for his child, and is very much attached
to D. and to his wife. . . .
It is time to turn to our travellers.^ Our last letter
was from Cork. My brother seems to have been much
more than satisfied with the tour, highly delighted, more
perhaps with the society, the opportunities of obser-
vations, etc., than with the scenery; yet the Seven
Churches, and other particular objects, had struck him
very much. . . .
Yours affectionately,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
CCCCXCIV
William Wordsworth to Christopher Wordsworth
Limerick, 17th, [Postmark, Sept., 1829.]
My dear Brother,
Read this first. This letter, begun on the 5 th, I could
not think worthy of being sent off, and I never have
found time to write a better, for I really have worked
hard. The day before yesterday Mr. James Marshall and
I breakfasted at five, set off from Kenmare at half past,
rode ten Irish miles, took to our feet, ascended nearly
fifteen hundred feet, descended as much, ascended
1 Her brother and Mr. Marshall — Ed.
TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH 391
another ridge as high, descended as much, and then
went to the top of Carrantuohill, three thousand feet,
the mountain being the highest in Ireland, three thou-
sand four hundred and ten feet above the level of the sea.
We then descended, walked nearly two hours, and rode
on bad horses an hour and a half or more, and reached
Killarney at ten at night, having eaten nothing but a
poor breakfast of spongy bread without eggs, and one
crust of the same quality, and drank milk during the
whole day. I reached Killarney neither tired nor ex-
hausted after" all this. We were richly recompensed by
a fine day, and most sublime views. We saw everything
at and about Killarney, the bay and the glen of Glen-
gariff (a celebrated scene not far from Bantry) included.
With the county of Kerry I have been much pleased,
and by some parts almost astonished.
As to the Irish people, our mode of travelling is not
favourable to conversing much with them ; but I make the
most of my opportunities. Poor laws cannot, I think, be
introduced into Ireland. There is no class to look to
their administration, and the numbers who would have a
claim for relief are so vast that any allowance which would
tell for their benefit could not be raised without oppres-
sion to those who are already possessed of some property.
I have no more room, and the subjects before me are inex-
haustible. Farewell. God bless you, my dear brother.
We shall push on as fast as we can from this place.
Affectionately yours,
W. W.
392 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
CCCCXCV
William Wordsworth to Alexander Dyce
Rydal Mount, Kendal, Oct. i6, 1829.
My dear Sir,
On my return from Ireland, where I have been travel-
ling a few weeks, I found your present of George Peek's
works,^ and the obliging letter accompanying it ; for both
of which I offer my cordial thanks.
English literature is greatly indebted to. your labours,
and I have much pleasure in this occasion of testifying
my respect for the sound judgment, and conscientious
diligence, with which you discharge your duty as an edi-
tor. Peelers works were well deserving of the care you
have bestowed upon them ; and, as I did not previously
possess a copy of any part of them, the beautiful book
which you have sent me was very acceptable.
By accident, I learned lately that you had made a book
of extracts, which I had long wished for opportunity and
industry to execute myself. I am happy it has fallen into
so much better hands. I allude to your Specimens from
British Poetesses? I had only a glance at your work;
but I will take this opportunity of saying, that should a
second edition be called for, I should be pleased with the
honour of being consulted by you about it. There is
one poetess to whose writings I am especially partial,
the Countess of Winchelsea. I have perused her poems
frequently, and should be happy to name such passages
as I think most characteristic of her genius, and most
fit to be selected.
1 George Peele (i 558-1 598) Elizabethan poet, actor, etc. — EA
3 Published in 1825. — Ed.
TO SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT 393
I know not what to say about my intended edition of
a portion of Thomson. There appears to be some indel-
icacy in one poet treating another in that way. The
example is not good, though I think there are few to
whom the process might be more advantageously applied
than to Thomson. Yet so sensible am I of the objec-
tion, that I should not have entertained the thought, but
for the expectation held out to me by an acquaintance,
that valuable materials for a new Life of Thomson might
be procured. In this I was disappointed. . . .
With much respect, I remain, dear sir,
Sincerely yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXCVI
William Wordsworth to Sir George Beaumont
Whitehaven Castle, Oct. 19th.
My dear Sir George,
I have this moment received your obliging letter, for-
warded to me from Rydal Mount, whither I hoped to
have returned before this time. Unexpected delays have
arisen, and I now fear that we shall scarcely be able to
start in time for reaching Coleorton till the first week in
November. But, not to shackle Lady Beaumont and
you in the least, we will let you know the day of our
departure when it is fixed ; and pray do not scruple to
let us know if this unavoidable delay has rendered it
inconvenient for you to receive us.
In fact we have been obliged to take another house for
the newly-married pair, the one which my son had hired,
394 DORA WORDSWORTH
and which we had half furnished, being pronounced by
the medical attendant of the Curwen family much too
cold for her health ; which is too probable, as it is no less
than five hundred feet above the level of the sea, to which
it is completely exposed, and indeed to all winds.
I long to see your little boy, and believe me, dear Sir
George, with kindest remembrances to Lady Beaumont,
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
CCCCXCVII
Dora Wordsworth to Edward Quillinan
Rydal Mount, Nov. 14th, 1829.
You cruel, wicked vagabondiser, nearly a fortnight
elapsed ! and not even a line to inform us how you per-
formed your journey, whether you escaped colds, broken
limbs, and a thousand other perils ! We have comforted
ourselves with " no news is good news," and expect you
will please to let us hear from you when you have nothing
better to do, and that happy time, it is to be hoped, will
arrive some time before the new year comes in. As a
punishment for your idlesse I shall inflict upon you a his-
tory of our proceedings since you left us. Father and
Mr. Southey started as intended in the tub for Levens in
pouring rain ; all the old cloaks and coats in the house
were raked up, hat covers^ etc. Father was exactly like a
Scotch drover. Mr. Southey with his blue cloak and
scarlet lining described to us in broken English the dan-
gers and privations he had gone through in his retreat
from Moscow, and laughed at our fears for the wetting
TO EDWARD QUILLINAN 395
they would get. At length they were packed and drove
off. When their driver brought back the pony, he told
James, " the gentlemen had had a terrible rise ! for when
they got to Kendal, there was a carriage and four, two
postillions, and two outriders waiting for them," and could
you have seen the pride and delight expressed in James's
countenance whilst telling me of this compliment paid to
his master you would have been entertained.
Mr. South ey was much disappointed to find you gone
when he came downstairs. He has sent the extract
from Evelyn about the trees, but I am sorry I cannot
enclose it this time. Barber took it away with him the
other morning, and has not brought it back. Dear Edith
has done the hour-glass beautifully. I wish you could
see it. When you next come down she says you must
write something for her in her album. She declares she
has a much better right to some verses than Miss Carle-
ton. " Oh, but they were written to oblige Miss Luff,"
we all tell her. " I care not whom they were written to
oblige, they do not oblige me," she replies, and is very
furious.
Aunt Wordsworth I am happy to say keeps quite well,
in spite of the wretched weather. We have had but one
fine day since you left us. Your lover goes to White-
haven on Tuesday. She too is well. A letter from
Willy, who desires his very best thanks may be given
you for your kind letter to him, and we have had another
from "Worthy Sir" and "my spouse," as long and as
difficult to read as either of those you were so much
interested in. The rector does not trouble us with many
letters. We have neither heard from him nor of him.
So I trust his tithes, and moduses^ are gone to sleep. By
the way, father has written to "Worthy Sir" a letter
396 DORA WORDSWORTH
which he hopes will close the correspondence, saying he
has requested a friend to convey a sovereign to him.
This you will be kind enough not to forget to do when
convenient. His last address is Rev. Dr. Turner, Cam-
bridge Terrace, Edgeware Road.
You know father says it is very difl&cult to be quite
honest. We ladies have found it so in regard to a pair
of beauteous scissors which I enclose. We are not ur-
tain they are yours, and, on the plea of not knowing to
whom they belong, would have kept them could we have
agreed who was to appropriate them ; but as we all would
have them it was decided they had better be sent to you,
as this is the only way of settling the question. Lucky
for you that ladies are such selfish creatures. Edith was
one of the worst.
Hartley was here the other evening. We told him
Barber ^ was turned poet, and he should hear some of his
verses, so we read him your poem. "Well,*' says he,
" they are very pretty indeed, but if Barber wrote these
lines I will be shaved dry with a rusty sickle by any bar-
ber in Westmoreland." Poor Barber is proud indeed of
his poem. He has it off by heart, and really repeats it
well. Hartley has given me a copy of the Winter^s
Wreath^ and with it such a pretty sonnet, but shockingly
complimentary. My head will be turned by daft verses
from daft men I am sure.
I am ashamed of this untidy scrawl, but am writing in
a great hurry, as the Gordon packet is waiting for me,
and I have never once inquired after your little darlings,
whom I trust you found well and happy as you could desire.
1 Doubtless the Mr. Barber referred to in the Fenwick note to
Wordsworth's Epistle to Sir George Beaumont. Mr. Quillinan wrote
T7u Birch of Silver-How for Mr. Barber of Grasmere. — Ed.
TO EDWARD QUILLINAN 397
All send their kind love, Edith's too. The money came
safe from Kendal. Blue bonnet's eyes did sparkle when
I gave her your little present.
Ever your very affectionate and faithful
Dora Wordsworth.
CCCCXCVIII
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
• Rydal Mount, December 23, 1829.
. . . The poem you were so kind as to enclose gave
me much pleasure, nor was it the less interesting for
being composed upon a subject you had touched before.
The style in this latter is more correct, and the versifica-
tion more musical. Where there is so much of sincerity
of feeling, in a matter so dignified as the renunciation of
Poetry for Science, one feels that an apology is necessary
for verbal criticism. I will therefore content myself with
observing that joying for joy^ or joyance^ is not to my
taste ; indeed, I object to such liberties upon principle.
We should soon have no language at all if the unscrupu-
lous coinage of the present day were allowed to pass, and
become a precedent for the future. One of the first
duties of a writer is to ask himself whether his thought,
feeling, or image cannot be expressed by existing words
or phrases, before he goes about creating new terms,
even when they are justified by the analogies of the lan-
guage. "The cataract's steep flow" is both harsh and
inaccurate. "Thou hast seen me bend over the cata-
ract " would express one idea in simplicity, and all that
was required ; had it been necessary to be more particular,
398 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
steep flow are not the words that ought to have been used.
I remember Campbell says, in a composition that is over-
run with faulty language,
And dark as winter was ^^flow
Of Iser rolling rapidly —
that is, flowing rapidly. The expression ought to have
been stream or current.
Pray, thank your excellent sister for the verses which
she so kindly intrusted to me. I have read them all
three times over with great care, and some of them
oftener. They abound with genuine sensibility, and do
her much honour ; but, as I told you before, your sister
must practise her mind in severer logic ; for example, the
first words of the first poem, "Thou most companionless!^
In strict logic, " being companionless " is a positive con-
dition not admitting of more or less, though in poetic
feeling it is true that the sense of it is deeper as to one
object than to another ; and the day moon is an object
eminently calculated for impressing certain minds with
that feeling. Therefore the expression is not faulty in
itself absolutely, but faulty in its position, coming with-
out preparation ; and therefore causing a shock between
the common-sense of the words, and the impassioned
imagination of the speaker. This may appear to you
frigid criticism, but, depend upon it, no writings will live
in which these rules are disregarded. In the next line,
Walking the blue but foreign fields of day,
the meaning here is walking blue fields which, though
common to see in our observation by night, are not so by
day, even to accurate observers. Here, too, the thought
TO WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON 399
is just ; but again there is an abruptness ; the distinction
is too nice, or refined, for the second line of a poem.
" Weariness of that gold sphere." Silver is frequently
used as an adjective by our poets ; gold^ as I should sup-
pose, very rarely, unless it may be in dramatic poetry,
where the same delicacies are not indispensable. " Gold
watch," "gold bracelet," etc., are shop language. "Gold
sphere " is harsh in sound, particularly at the close of a
line. " Faint, as if weary of my golden sphere," would
please me better. " Greets thy rays^ You do not greet
the ray by daylight ; you greet the moon; there is no ray.
^^DsLung^ight" is wrong; the moon, under no m3^hol-
ogy that I am acquainted with, is represented with wings ;
and though on a stormy night, when clouds are driving
rapidly along, the word might be applied to her apparent
motion, it is not so here. Therefore " flight " is here used
for unusual or unexpected ascent, a sense, in my judg-
ment, that cannot be admitted. The slow motion by
which this ascent is gained is at variance with the word.
The rest of this stanza is very pleasing, with the excep-
tion of one word — " thy nature's breast ." Say " profane
thy nature"; how much simpler and better! "Breast"
is a sacrifice to rhyme, and is harsh in expression. We
have had the brow and the eye of the moon before, both
allowable ; but what have we reserved for human beings,
if their features and organs etc., are to be lavished on
objects without feeling and intelligence } You will, per-
haps, think this observation comes with an ill grace from
one who is aware that he has tempted many of his admir-
ers into abuses of this kind ; yet, I assure you, I have
never given way to my own feelings in personifying nat-
ural objects, or investing them with sensation, without
bringing all that I have said to a rigorous after-test of
400 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
good sense, as far as I was able to determine what
good sense is. Your sister will judge, from my being so
minute, that I have been much interested in her poetical
efforts. This very poem highly delighted me ; the senti-
ment meets with my entire approbation, and it is feel-
ingly and poetically treated. Female authorship is to be
shunned as bringing in its train more and heavier evils
than have presented themselves to your sister's ingenu-
ous mind. No true friend, I am sure, will endeavour to
shake her resolution to remain in her own quiet and
healthful obscurity. This is not said with a view to dis-
courage her from writing, nor have the remarks made
above any aim of the kind ; they are rather intended to
assist her in writing with more permanent satisfaction
to herself. She will probably write less in proportion as
she subjects her feelings to logical forms, but the range
of her sensibilities, so far from being narrowed, will
extend as she improves in the habit of looking at things
through the steady light of words ; and, to speak a little
metaphysically, words are not a mere vehicle^ but they are
powers either to kill or to animate.
I shall be truly happy to receive at your leisure the
prose MSS. which you promised me. I shall write to
Mr. F. Mgeworth in a few days. I cannot conclude
without reminding you of your promise to bring your sis-
ter to see us next summer ; we will then talk over the
poems at leisure.
Yours most sincerely,
Wm. Wordsworth.
TO FRANCIS BEAUFORT EDGEWORTH 40 1
CCCCXCIX
William Wordsworth to Francis Beaufort Edgeworth
1829.
... As you were so much struck with the yew-tree at
Mucross, do not fail, if ever you come near Askeaton, to
visit the ruins of its abbey, where you will find a much
finer cloister, with a tree standing exactly in the centre
as at Mucross. The tree is infinitely inferior to that of
Mucross in gloomy grandeur, but the whole effect being
of the same kind, the impression on my mind at Mucross
was not so deep as it would have been if I had not seen
Askeaton before.
The faults I found with Killarney were, the bog be-
tween the town and the lake, the long tame ridge which
you complain of, the want of groves and timber trees,
though there is a prodigality of wood, the heavy shape of
the highest hill, Mangerton, and the unluckiness of Car-
rantuohill being so placed as only to combine with the
lake from its tamest parts. Your objection to the rocky
knolls in the upper lake, as savouring of conceits in
Nature, is a sensation of your own, which it would be
absurd to reason against. I did not feel it when on the
spot, nor can I admit it now. • • •
402 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
D
William Wordsworth to Catherine Grace Godwin^
[1829, probably.]
Dear Madam,
I have been long in your debt, so long that I regret
jiot having written my acknowledgment on the day I
received your book. This would have been done, but I
felt there would be little value in such a return for the
mark of respect you have paid me ; and I relied on your
candid interpretation of any delay that might take place.
I wished to read your volume carefully through before
you heard from me. I have done so, and with much
pleasure. Wherever it is read, such poetry cannot but
do you honour. It is neither wanting in feeling, nor in
that much rarer gift which is the soul of poetry, — imagina-
tion. There is a great command of language also., and
occasionally fine versification ; but here, and in some
other points of workmanship, you are most defective,
especially in the blank verse. Am I right in supposing
that several of these pieces have been written at different
periods of life? The Wanderer^ for example, though
full of varied interest, appears to me, in point of versifi-
cation, and in some respects of style, much inferior to
Destiny^ a, very striking poem. This, and the Monk oj
Camaldoli^ are, in my judgment, the best executed pieces
in the volume. Both evince extraordinary powers.
The fault of your blank verse is, that it is not suffi-
ciently broken. You are aware that it is infinitely the
1 Mrs. Catherine Grace Godwin (i 798-1 845), poetess, author of
The Wanderer's Legacy (1829), Poetical Works (1854). Mr. and
Mrs. Godwin lived at Barbon, near Kirkby-Lonsdale, from 1824
onward. — Ed.
TO CATHERINE GRACE GODWIN 403
most difficult metre to manage, as is clear from so few
having succeeded in it. The Spenserian stanza is a fine
structure of verse; but it is also almost insurmountably
difficult. You have succeeded in the broken and more
impassioned movement, — of which Lord Byron has given
good instances, — but it is a form of verse ill adapted to
conflicting passion ; and it is not injustice to say that
the stanza is spoiled in Lord Byron's hands; his own
strong and ungovernable passions blinded him as to its
character. It is equally unfit for narrative. Circum-
stances are difficult to manage in any kind of verse, except
the dramatic, where the warmth of the action makes the
reader indifferent to those delicacies of phrase and sound
upon which so much of the charm of other poetry depends.
If you write more in this stanza, leave Lord Byron for
Spenser. In him the stanza is seen in its perfection. It
is exquisitely harmonious also in Thomson's hands, and
fine in Beattie's Minstrel; but these two latter poems
are merely descriptive and sentimental; and you will
observe that Spenser never gives way to violent and con-
flicting passion, and that his narrative is bare of circum-
stances, slow in movement, and (for modern relish) too
much clogged with description. Excuse my dwelling so
much on this dry subject ; but as you have succeeded so
well in the arrangement of this metre, perhaps you will
not be sorry to hear my opinion of its character. One
great objection to it (an insurmountable one, I think, for
circumstantial narrative) is the poverty of our language
in rhymes.
But to recur to your volume. I was everywhere more
or less interested in it. Upon the whole, I think I like
best Destiny^ and the Monk, but mainly for the reasons
above given. TTie Wanderer's Legacy, being upon a
404 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
large scale and so true to your own feelings, has left a
lively impression upon my mind ; and a moral purpose is
answered, by exhibiting youthful love under such illusion
with regard to the real value of its object. The Seal
Hunters is an affecting poem, but I think you linger too
long on the prelusive description. I could speak with
pleasure of many other pieces, so that you have do
grounds for the apprehensions you express, as far, at
least, as I am concerned.
As most likely the beauties of this country will tempt
you and Mr. Godwin to return to it, I need not say that
I should be happy to renew my acquaintance with you
both ; and I should with pleasure avail myself of that
opportunity to point out certain minutiae of phrase in
your volume, where you have been misled by bad exam-
ple, especially of the Scotch. The popularity of some of
their writings has done no little harm to the English lan-
guage, for the present at least.
Believe me, etc.,
W. Wordsworth.
TO CHARLES LAMB 405
1830
DI
William Wordsworth to Charles Lamb
Sunday, Jan. 10, 1830.
My dear Lamb,
A whole twelve-months have I been a letter in your
debt. I have been sufficiently punished by self-reproach.
I liked your play^ marvellously, having no objection to
it but one which strikes me as applicable to a large major-
ity of plays, those of Shakespeare himself not entirely
excepted; I mean a little degradation of character for a
more dramatic turn of plot. Your present of Hone's
book ^ was very acceptable, and so much so that your gift
of the book is the cause why I did not write long ago. I
wished to enter a little minutely into a notice of the dra-
matic extracts, and on account of the smallness of the
print deferred doing so till longer days would allow me to
read without candle light, which I have long since given
up. But alas ! when the days lengthened, my eyesight
departed ; and for many months I could not read three
1 Probably The Wife's Trial; or the Intruding Widow : A
Dramatic Poem (1827). This play was sent by Lamb to Charles
Kemble at Covent Garden in August, 1827, but was not accepted.
See The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb^ edited by E. V. Lucas,
Vol. V, " Poems and Plays." — Ed.
3 Doubtless bis Table Book (1828). — Ed.
406 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
minutes at a time. You will be sorry to hear that this
infirmity still hangs about me, and cuts me off from read-
ing almost altogether.
But how are you ? And how is your dear sister ? I long
much, as we all do, to know. For ourselves this last
year, owing to my sister's dangerous illness — the effects
of which are not yet got over — has been an anxious one
and melancholy. But no more of this. My sister has
probably told you everything about this family, so that I
may conclude with less scruple by assuring you of my
sincere and faithful affection for you, and your dear sister.
W. Wordsworth.
My son takes this to London.
[To the above letter Dorothy Wordsworth added the
following : — ]
Sunday, loth.
My brother has given me this to enclose with my own.
His account of me is far too doleful. I am, I assure you,
perfectly well ; and it is only in order to become strong,
as heretofore, that I confine myself mainly to the house ;
and yet, were I to trust my feelings merely, I would say
that I am strong already. His eyes, alas ! are very weak,
and so will, I fear, remain through life, but with proper
care he does not suffer much.
DII
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Rydal Mount, Wednesday.
My Lord,
. . . There is one point also delicate to touch upon and
hazardous to deal with, but of prime importance in this
TO LORD LONSDALE 407
crisis. The question, as under the conduct of the present
ministers, is closely connecting itself with religion. Now
after all, if we are to be preserved from utter confusion, it
is religion and morals, and conscience, which must do the
work. The religious part of the community, especially
those attached to the Church of England, must and do feel
that neither the Church as an establishment, nor its points
of faith as a church, nor Christianity itself as governed
by Scripture, ought to be left long, if it can be prevented,
in the hands which manage our affairs.
But I am running into unpardonable length. I took up
the pen principally to express a hope that your Lordship
may have continued to see the question in the light which
affords the only chance of preserving the nation from
several generations, perhaps, of confusion and crime and
wretchedness.
Elxcuse the liberty I have taken, and believe me most
^^ ^' Your Lordship's much obliged
W. Wordsworth.
Dili
Dorothy Wordsworth to William Pearson
My dear Sir, Rydal Mount, 25th March, [1830].
... My brother was much interested by the informa-
tion you had gathered from your vagrant neighbours, the
gipsies ; so was I, and every member of this family, and
we sincerely thank you for it, and for the .readiness with
which you complied with my brother's wishes. He in-
tends, if you have no objection, to send the account to
be inserted in the Naturalists^ Magazine^ if the matter be
thought new or sufficiently important. To us, as I have
said, it was very interesting.
408 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
. . . My niece has been with Miss Southey a fortnight
at Keswick, and, if weather permit, her brother purposes
riding over to Keswick from Moresby to-morrow, to con-
duct her back with him ; and he hopes for her company
during a whole month, a great loss to the father at
homel • • •
Believe me, dear sir.
Yours sincerely,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
DIV
William Wordsworth to Basil Montagu
Rydal Mount, Kendal,
My dear Montagu, ^ ^ *
I ought to have thanked you long ago for the twelfth
volume of Lord Bacon, which I received through John ;
and also for your little treatise on Laughter, which has
amused me much. You have rendered good service to
the public by this edition of the works of one of the
greatest men the world has produced. I wish I had
been younger to make a more worthy use of so valuable
a present. Let me ask whether it would not have been
better to print the letters — of which the last volume con-
sists — not as you have done, but in chronological order,
only taking care to note from what collection the several
letters were taken ? I should certainly have much pre-
ferred that arrangement, so would Soutiiey ; but perhaps
you have reasons for this plan which do not strike me.
With many thanks, I remain, dear M.,
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
TO JOHN GARDNER 409
DV
William Wordsworth to John Gardner
Rydal Mount, Kendal,
5th April, 1830.
Dear Sir,
I admire the delicacy with which you decline purchas-
ing this work^ to my injury. These piracies do no credit
to the Parisian publisher. As far as relates to the Con-
tinent, I am rather glad of this practice, but surely it is
unfair to authors to be deprived of such benefit as
they might draw from the sale of their works among their
own countrymen and in their native land; the more so
when the short duration of copyright, as allowed by our
law, is considered. That law at present acts as a pre-
mium upon mediocracy, by tempting authors to aim only
at immediate effect.
Some years ago I named to my publishers my wish to
try a cheaper edition, such as you recommend, but I was
assured by them that the return of profit to myself would
be little or nothing. Readers, I am aware, have since
increased much and are daily increasing. Perhaps also
my own powers are gaining ground upon the public ; but
you cannot have failed to observe what pains are taken
in many quarters to obstruct their circulation and to
lower their character. Be it so, you would probably say ;
and that is a still stronger reason for their author putting
them in the way of being more generally known. The
misrepresentations — whether arising from incapacity,
presumption, envy, or personal malice — would be best
refuted by the books becoming as accessible as may be.
^ The Galignani edition of his poems. — £d.
4IO WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I trust that it would be so ; but still, having neither
inherited a fortune, nor having been a maker of money,
and being now advanced in life with a family to survive me,
I cannot be indifferent to the otherwise base consid-
eration of some pecuniary gain.
The edition you possess of 1827 is getting low, and a
new one will probably be called for ere long. My inten-
tion at present is to reprint the whole, pretty much in the
same form, only I shall print two sonnets in a page, a
greater number of lines also, and exclude all blank pages
(called, I believe, by the printers "fat"); and, in this case,
I hope to reduce the price of the work, and perhaps to
compress it into four volumes, though there will be a
good deal of additional matter. This, however, will be
printed separately also to accommodate the purchasers
of the former editions.^ . , .
DVI
William Wordsworth to George Huntly Gordon
Rydal Mount, April 6, 1830.
My dear Mr. Gordon,
You are kind in noticing with thanks my rambling notes.*
We have had here a few days of delicious summer
weather. It appeared with the suddenness of a pantomimic
1 This letter was meant to be shown to the Longmans by Gard-
ner, as Wordsworth adds that if he (Gardner) " thought it worth
while to call on them, this letter would be your introduction. State
your wishes and your reasons, and hear what they have to say. If
your proposal could be reconciled with a reasonable emolument to
myself, it would gratify me to adopt it. . . . Is it not your proposal
that there should be two editions of different sizes ? " — Ed.
2 On a proposed tour. — Christopher Wordsworth.
TO GEORGE HUNTLY GORDON 411
trick, stayed longer than we had a right to expect, and
was as rapidly succeeded by high wind, bitter cold, and
winter snow over hill and dale.
I am not surprised that you are so well pleased with
Mr. Quillinan. The more you see of him the better you
will like him. You ask what are my employments. Ac-
cording to Dr. Johnson they are such as entitle me to
high commendation, for I am not only making two blades
of grass grow where only one grew before, but a dozen.
In plain language, I am draining a bit of spongy ground.^
In the field where this goes on I am making a green ter-
race that commands a beautiful view of our two lakes,
Rydal and Windermere, and more than two miles of inter-
vening vale, with the stream visible by glimpses flowing
through it. I shall have great pleasure in showing you
this among the other returns which I hope one day to
make for your kindness. Adieu,
Yours,
W. W.
DVII
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, AprU 22d, 1830.
My dear Friend,
Your scrap of a letter gave us more satisfaction than I
can express ; but I assure you we had much rather you
had given us a real letter bearing the postmark of the
Eternal City. ... I will begin with a sober review of
the autumn and winter, as they have passed away with us
in our quiet home ; leaving all public and general matters
to the newspapers, which no doubt you read more regularly
1 In Dora's field. — Ed.
412
DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
than we do. I think you left England about the time
of John's exchanging his Leicestershire curacy for the
small rectory of Moresby in Cumberland. We left Whit-
wick with regret, but have now many reasons for rejoic-
ing in the change; and but three weeks after parting
with our kind friend Lady Beaumont, her sudden death
tended to reconcile us, for without her Coleorton and
Whitwick would not have been the same places they
used to be. An unusually severe winter, and low wages,
and want of work in the stocking factory on which Whit-
wick depends, in a few months completely reconciled us
to our removal from a place where poverty and distress,
which we could not effectually relieve, would have daily
met our eyes. John is very happy at Moresby, in a small
parish, yet sufficiently peopled both by poor and rich
to require and call forth constant moderate exertion,
without that depressing accompanying conviction that all
we can do is of no avail for permanent relief. John's
income is not much larger than at Whitwick, but he is a
richer man, and is comfortably habited in lodgings where
he can at any time receive one or two of us. His mother
spent three weeks with him in the winter, and Dora is
now his companion and will remain till fetched home by
her father, who is in sad want of her. But he willingly
submits, the young people being so very happy, and her
health improving with sea air and horse exercise with her
brother. They have each a pony. . . . With an inex-
haustible stock of lively spirits and of activity within
doors, she is utterly unable to follow the example of her
mother's youth, and mine, in walking.
The family summer plans are not yet fixed, but I think
the father and daughter will be tripping off to Cambridge
before the commencement, and perhaps my sister may
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 413
visit her own relations in the county of Durham at the
same time. As for me, it seems to be decreed that I
must stay at home, and surely it is no punishment to be
confined to this beautiful spot. I have been enacting the
invalid ever since the month of November, though in
truth I have had no ailment since the beginning of Janu-
ary. Whenever the weather has been tolerable I have
gone out in the pony-chaise or walked, but not farther
than the terrace. Since the trees began to bud I have
extended my walks a little further. In compliance with
the judgment and advice of those who, I suppose, are
much better judges of what is safe than I am myself, I
shall continue to use similar caution during the whole of
next summer and the following winter, if I live so long ;
and after that time I hope I may be safely trusted to my
own feelings as a guide in ascertaining the measure of
my strength. In the meantime it is certainly my duty to
submit to be guided by those who have already suffered
so much anxiety on my account, and there is no hardship
in it ; for this different tnode of life has no effect what-
ever upon my spirits, and certainly it has agreed with my
health. It was a sad illness I had at Whitwick, and
again I was very ill at Halifax, whence I came to Rydal
the first week of September, and since have not slept one
night from home.
My brother has enjoyed his accustomed good health,
and, though he passed his sixtieth birthday on the seventh
of this month, is really as active, and in as good walking
plight, as when we crossed the Alps in 1820. My sister,
too, retains her strength and activity wonderfully. Dora
longs to go to Rome ; the father would dearly like it, the
mother would fall into any plans that could reasonably
be formed for such a purpose, and as for me, I thir*: I
/
414 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
should lack none of the zeal which would have accom-
panied me thither twenty years ago ; but we say not much
about it. We are past the scheming age (except Dora),
and there seem to be so many obstacles that I cannot
think we shall ever accomplish a journey of such magni-
tude ; and, indeed, whenever I venture upon a '^ish^ it
carries me no farther than dear Switzerland. But who
knows what circumstances may do for us ! When you
come home you will so rouse and inspire my brother's
aged heart by his own fireside that strange schemes may
arise, and all be realized with as much ease as our journey
of 1820 ! . . . My brother has laid his poetry aside for
two or three months. He has enough of new matter for a
small volume, which we wish him to publish ; but I think
he will not, he so dislikes publishing. A new edition of
his poems will soon be called for. He has lately been
busied, day after day, out of doors, among workmen
who are making us another new and most delightful ter-
race. I hope you will soon come and walk upon it, so I
shall not describe it.
This leads my thoughts to the woful state of money
and the " money market." Every year we grow poorer,
interest so low, rents not paid, etc ! But, .in this happy
remote corner, little do we see of what is endured among
the lower orders ; though we see and know that all who
are of our own condition experience a terrible change.
Mr. Owen^ is instructing the Londoners in "the science
of society," and he is to point out a remedy. The Parlia-
ment folks seem to be quite easy in the discovery that
they can do nothing. It seems the emigrations are numer-
ous both from the manufacturing and farming districts.
1 Robert Owen (1771-1858) founder of English socialism, author
of A New View of Society ^ etc. — Ed.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 415
The latter are in an untilled state. Mrs. Hutchinson
writes that prices are so low, and poor rates so heavy,
she knows not what will become of them in a few years.
They have long had to pay rents from their stock property.
We have had one most delightful letter from Charles
and Mary Lamb since you left England. She writes as
if very happy and contented in being released from house-
keeping cares, and gives on the whole a good account of
her brother, though from his own letter (written with
quiet spirit and humour) we could hardly know whether
he was oppressed by being hurried out of his usual course
or not. S. T. Coleridge continues to live at Highgate as
usual, attacked by occasional fits of sharp illness, but
always, to a certain point, recovering from them ; and, I
believe, he is publishing some new work upon the old
abstruse subjects.^ His daughter is happily settled near
him in London, but they cannot see much of each other.
To walk is impossible, and to be otherwise conveyed far
too expensive for the wife of a young lawyer who has his
fortune to make. Mrs. Coleridge is with her son Der-
went, who does well in his curacy and school. Hartley
is at Grasmere, writing now and then for Blackwood and
the annuals ; and, when he has money in his pocket,
wandering off nobody knows whither. Miss Hutchinson
is with the Southeys. Southey was off work, but is better,
and busy as ever. What he does is wonderful. He was
was much affected by the death of his brother's wife,
Mrs. Dr. Southey.
We have good news of William from Bremen ; but his
health, in common with that of all Mr. Papendich's
family, suffered much from the severity of the winter.
William was an eyewitness of the loss of lives and
1 See letter of May 5th, 1830, to William Pearson. — Ed.
4l6 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
houses from flood when the ice broke. He seems to
be much beloved in Mr. P.'s family, and is exceedingly
attached to them. . . . No doubt you have seen our
nephew Christopher's name at the top of his Classical
Tripos. The first classical medal has since been ad-
judged to him. The Master of Trinity enjoys better
health than a year or two ago. I hope, my dear friend,
that you receive comfortable letters iErom your brother.
I was much concerned to hear of the death of your
nephew's son, both for his sake, and his father's, and
yours. This is a poor letter to travel so far ; but I know
you will be glad to hear of us and to receive our assur-
ances of affectionate remembrance, in which we three
(the only ones at home) do heartily join. . . . Adieu, my
dear friend. Believe me ever.
Yours affectionately,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
We have had a very wet and mostly cold spring after
an unrelenting winter. How is it with you ? Our shrubs
are budding, larches green, but the trees very backward,
and the soil is so soddened with wet that even the flowers
look comfortless.
D. W.
DVIII
William Wordsworth to Christopher Wordsworth
Rydal Mount, April 27, 1830.
My dear Brother,
Was Mr. Rose's course of sermons upon education?
The more I reflect upon the subject, the more I am
convinced that positive instruction, even of a religious
TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH 417
character, is much overrated. The education of man, and
above all of a Christian, is the education of dutyy which
is most forcibly taught by the business and concerns of
life ; of which, even for children — especially the children
of the poor — book learning is but a small part. There
is an officious disposition on the part of the upper and
middle classes to precipitate the tendency of the people
towards intellectual culture in a manner subversive of
their own happiness, and dangerous to the peace of soci-
ety. It is mournful to observe of how little avail are
lessons of piety taught at school, if household attentions
and obligations be neglected in consequence of the time
taken up in school tuition; and if the head be stuffed
with vanity, from the gentlemanliness of the employment
of reading. Farewell.
W. W.
DIX
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Begun many days ago, ended 27th April, [1830.]
. . . My brother, though he passed his sixtieth birth-
day on the seventh of this month, is as good a walker as
most of the best young ones of twenty, and is not much
inferior to what he was himself at that age. . . . The
last letters from William brought a good account of his
health. He is very happy. Mr. Papendich speaks very
favourably of him in all respects, but seems well aware of
his peculiar delicacy of constitution, and therefore of the
absolute necessity of regular exercise out of doors, espe-
cially on horseback. . . . Sarah H. is at Keswick. We
had some hope of the Southeys becoming our neighbours ;
but they have renewed the lease of their present house.
4l8 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
and really I am disinterested enough to be glad, as,
though wishing to be near us, they dreaded a removal.
Poor Mrs. Coleridge ! we miss her very much out of the
country, though we saw little of her. She regrets what
she has lost bitterly, yet is well pleased with her daugh- j
ter-in-law, and has great comfort in Derwent ; but, at her
age, it is a great change. . . . What, however, is worst
of all is Hartley's hopeless state. We had provided good
lodgings for him. He had no one want, was liked by the
people of the house, and for seven weeks was steady and
industrious. Money came to repay him for his work, and
what does he do ? Instead of discharging just debts, he
pays a score off at a public house, and with eight sover-
eigns in his pocket takes off, is now wandering some-
where, and will go on wandering till some charitable
person leads the vagrant home. We have only heard of
his lodging at first at different inns — this no doubt while
the money lasted — and since of his having been seen
on the roads, and having lodged in this bam or that. It
has been my sad office to report to his poor mother of his
doings, but my late reports have been of a cheering kind.
I now dread the task that is before me. I shall not, how-
ever, write till he is again housed with the charitable
matron who is willing again to receive him. You will
perhaps say, my dear friend, " Why do you not rouse the
country, and send after him ? " . . .
Yours affectionately,
D. Wordsworth.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 419
DX
William Wordsworth to Alexander Dyce
May, 1830.
I am truly obliged, my dear sir, by your valuable pres-
ent of Webster's Dramatic Works and the Specimens}
Your publisher was right in insisting upon the whole of
Webster, otherwise the book might have been superseded,
either by an entire edition separately given to the world,
or in some corpus of the dramatic writers. The poetic
genius of England, with the exception of Chaucer, Spen-
ser, Milton, Dryden, Pope, and a very few more, is to be
sought in her drama. How it grieves one that there is
so little probability of those valuable authors being read
except by the curious ! I questioned my friend Charles
Lamb whether it would answer for some person of real
taste to undertake abridging the plays that are not likely
to be read as wholes, and telling such parts of the story
in brief abstract as were ill managed in the drama. He
thought it would not. I, however, am inclined to think
it would.
The account of your indisposition gives me much con-
cern. It pleases me, however, to see that, though you
may suffer, your industry does not relax; and I hope
that your pursuits are rather friendly than injurious to
your health.
You are quite correct in your notice of my obligation
to Dr. Darwin.^ In the first edition of the poem it was
acknowledged in a note, which slipped out of its place in
^ Specimens of British Poetesses. — A. Dyce.
3 See the poem To Enterprise^ 11. 11 4- 11 6, first published in
1822. — Ed.
420 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
the last, along with some others. In putting together
that edition I was obliged to cut up several copies;
and as several of the poems also changed their places,
some confusion and omission, and, in one instance, a
repetition, was the consequence; nothing, however, so
bad as in the edition of 1820, where a long poem. The
Lament of Mary Queen of Scots, was by mistake altogether
omitted. Another unpleasantness arose from the same
cause ; for, in some instances, notwithstanding repeated
charges to the printer, you have only two Spenserian
stanzas in a page (I speak now of the last edition)
instead of three ; and there is the same irregularity in
printing other forms of stanzas.
You must indeed have been fond of that ponderous
quarto. The Excursion, to lug it about as you did.^ In
the edition of 1827 it was diligently revised, and the
sense — in several instances — got into less room ; yet
still it is a long poem for these feeble and fastidious
times. You would honour me much by accepting a copy
of my poetical works ; but I think it better to defer
offering it to you till a new edition is called for, which will
be ere long, as I understand the present is getting low.
A word or two about Collins. You know what impor-
tance I attach to following strictly the last copy of the
text of an author ; and I do not blanie you for printing
in the Ode to Evening " brawling " spring ; but surely
the epithet is most unsuitable to the time, the very
worst, I think, that could have been chosen.
I now come to Lady Winchelsea. First, however, let
me say a few words upon one or two other authoresses
^ I had mentioned to Mr. W. that when I had a curacy m Corn-
wall I used frequently to carry The Excursion down to the sea-shore,
and read it there. — A. Dyce.
V
TO ALEXANDER DYCE 421
in your Specimens, British poetesses make but a poor
figure in the Poems by Eminent Ladies} But observing
how injudicious that selection is in the case of Lady
Winchelsea, and of Mrs. Aphra Behn^ (from whose
attempts they are miserably copious), I have thought
something better might have been chosen by more com-
petent persons who had access to the volumes of the
several writers. In selecting from Mrs. Pilkington, I
regret that you omitted (look at page 255) Sorrow^ or at
least that you did not abridge it. The first and third
paragraph are very affecting. See also Expostulation^
page 258 ; it reminds me strongly of one of the "Penitential
Hymns " of Burns. The few lines upon St. John the
Baptist, by Mrs. Killigrew (Vol. II, p. 6), are pleasing.
A beautiful elegy of Miss Warton (sister to the poets
of that name*) upon the death of her father has escaped
your notice ; nor can I refer you to it. Has the Duchess
of Newcastle written much verse ? * Her Life of her lord,
and the extracts in your book, and in the Eminent Ladies,
are all that I have seen of hers. The Mirth and Melan-
choly has so many fine strokes of imagination that I
cannot but think there must be merit in many parts of her
writings. How beautiful those lines, from "I dwell in
groves," to the conclusion, "Yet better loved, the more
that I am known," excepting the four verses after " Walk
up the hills." And surely the latter verse of the couplet.
The tolling bell which for the dead rings out ;
A mill where rushing waters run about ;
1 Published in two volumes, 1755. — ^^*
* Poetess, novelist, translator (1640 — 1689). — Ed.
* Joseph Warton, 1722-1800. Thomas Warton, 1728-1790. — Ed.
* Poems and Fancies (1653). She and her husband together wrote
twelve volumes folio, containing plays, poems, essays, etc. — Ed.
422
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
is very noticeable: no person could have hit upon that
union of images without being possessed of true poetic
feeling. Could you tell me anything of Lady Mary
Wortley Montagu more than is to be learned from Pope's
letters and her own ? She seems to have been destined
for something much higher and better than she became.
A parallel between her genius and character and that
of Lady Winchelsea her contemporary (though somewhat
prior to her) would be well worth drawing.
And now at last for the poems of Lady Winchelsea.
I will transcribe a note from a blank leaf of my owi\
edition, written by me before I saw the scanty notice of
her in Walpole. (By-the-bye, that book has always dis-
appointed me, when I have consulted it upon any par-
ticular occasion.) The note runs thus : " The Fragment^
page 280, seems to prove that she was attached to James
Second, as does page 42, and that she suffered by the
Revolution. The most celebrated of these poems, but far
from the best, is The Splem, The Petition for an Absolute
Retreat and A Nocturnal Reverie are of much superior
merit. See also for favourable specimens, page 156, On
the Death of Mr, Thynne; page 263 ; and Fragment^ page
280. The fable of Love^ Deaths and Reputation^ page 29,
is ingeniously told." Thus far my own note. I will now
be more particular. Page 3, "Our vanity," etc., and page
163 are noticeable as giving some account from herself
of her authorship. See also page 148, where she alludes
to The Spleen, She was unlucky in her models, Pindaric
odes and French fables. But see page 70, 754^ Blindness
1 This was written by Wordsworth on the fly-leaf of Miscellany
PoemSf on Several Occasions. Written by a Lady [Anne Kingsmillt
afterwards Countess of Winchelsea]. London, 17 13. He incoipo*
rated it in a subsequent letter to Dyce.
TO ALEXANDER DYCE 423
of JSiymaSj for proof that she could write with powers of
a high order when her own individual character and per-
sonal feelings were not concerned. For less striking
proofs of this power, see page 4, All is Vanity^ omitting
verses five and six, and reading '* clouds that are lost
and gone," etc. There is merit in the next two stanzas ;
and the last stanza towards the close contains a fine reproof
of the ostentation of Louis XIV, and one magnificent verse,
Spent the astonished hours, forgetful to adore.
But my paper is nearly out. As far as "For my gar-
ments," page 36, the poem is charming ; it then falls off,
but revives at page 39, "Give me there"; page 41, etc.,
reminds me of Dyer's Gongar HifL It revives on page 47,
towards the bottom, and concludes with sentiments worthy
of the writer, though not quite so happily expressed as in
other parts of the poem. See pages 82, 92, "Whilst in the
Muses' paths I stray," page 113. The Cautious Lovers^
page 1 18, has little poetic merit, but is worth reading as
characteristic of the author. See also page 143, Birthday
of Lady Catherine Lupton^ " Deep lines of honour," etc.,
to " maturer age." Page 1 5 1 ,^ if shortened, would be strik-
^^%\ P2ig®i54^ IS characteristic; page 159, from "Mean-
while ye living parents," to the close, omitting " Nor could
we hope," and the five following verses; also page 217,
In Praise of Writing Letters^ last paragraph, and page 259,*
that you have.* Also pages 262,* 263 ;* and page 280.
1 Here a new poem, entitled The Change, begins. — Ed.
2 Here another poem, entitled Enquiry after Peace, begins. — Ed.
• The poem entitled Life's Progress, — Ed.
* Dyce writes, " Wordsworth means that I have inserted that
poem in my Specimens of British Poetesses. — Ed.
* The poem named Hope, — Ed.
• The poem called Moral Songs, — Ed.
424 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Was Lady Winchelsea a Roman Catholic ? Page 290, The
Tree, "And to the clouds proclaim thy fall?": on page
2^1, A Nocturnal Reverie, omit "When scattered glow-
worms," and the next couplet. I have no more room.^
Ever faithfully yours,
W. W.
DXI
William Wordsworth to George Huntly Gordon
[1830.1
My dear Mr. Gordon,
... I cannot but deeply regret that the late King of
France and his ministers should have been so infatuated.
Their stupidity, not to say their crimes, has given an im-
pulse to the revolutionary and democratic spirit through-
out Europe which is premature, and from which much
immediate evil may be apprehended, whatever things may
settle into at last. Whereas, had the government con-
formed to the increasing knowledge of the people, and
not surrendered itself to the counsels of the priests and
the bigoted royalists, things might have been kept in
an even course to the mutual improvement and benefit of
both governed and governors.
In France incompatible things are aimed at, — a mon-
archy and democracy to be united without an interven-
ing aristocracy to constitute a graduated scale of power
and influence. I cannot conceive how an hereditary
monarchy can exist without an hereditary peerage in a
country so large as France, nor how either can maintain
1 This letter, and the one copied on the first pages of Lady
Winchelsea's poems by Dyce, is scarcely intelligible, if the volume
of poems is not consulted. — Ed.
TO GEORGE HUNTLY GORDON 425
its ground if the law of the Napoleon code, compelling
equal division of property by will, be not repealed. And
I understand that a vast majority of the French are
decidedly adverse to the repeal of that law, which, I
cannot but think, will ere long be found injurious both
to France and, in its collateral effects, to the rest of
£urop>e.
Ever, dear Mr. Gordon,
Cordially and faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
DXII
Dorothy Wordsworth to William Pearson ^
Rydal Mount, May 5 th, 1830.
My dear Sir,
My brother would have had great pleasure in lending
you Mr. Coleridge's new work,^ had he possessed it. I
am sorry to say he does not ; nor has Mr. Hartley Cole-
ridge yet received it. I hope the book may find its way
hither in course of time, and then you will have an oppor-
tunity of reading it ; so pray do not put yourself to the
expense of buying. Much as I wish for the prosperity
and sale of my friend's writings, I should be very sorry
to hear that you were a purchaser.
My brother intends sending The Hedgehog to the
Naturalists' Magazine, and probably, I should think,
1 Of Borderow, Crosthwaite ; ex-banker, student of literature, and
naturalist. — £d.
2 Doubtless On the Constitution of the Church and State^ accord-
ing to the idea of each ; with aid toward a right judgment on the IcUe
Catholic BilL — Ed.
426 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
with a few words from himself. After it has appeared
there, it might be extracted for the Kendal papers, but
better not insert there first. This reminds me, that when
I wrote to you, and also when I saw you, I forgot to ask
(as I had intended doing) for a sight of the little poem,
which you said you had written, on behalf of that poor,
injured creature, many years ago. I hope you will not
refuse to let us see it, however much you may be dissat-
isfied with your performance.
My brother intends joining his son and daughter at
Moresby before the end of this week ; and as he purposes
to remain with them a fortnight, you had better defer
your visit a little while. . . .
The new terrace will be finished t.o-morrow, much to
our satisfaction. It is a beautiful walk, and we hope the
draining will be found complete. We have much enjoyed
the late fine weather, living almost the day through in the
open air.
... I am quite well.
I am, dear sir.
Yours truly,
D. Wordsworth.
DXIII
William Wordsworth to Alexander Dyce
Rydal Mount, Kendal.
My dear Sir, ^^^ '"*' '^^o-
My last was, for want of room, concluded so abruptly
that I avail myself of an opportunity of sending you a
few additional words upon the same subject
TO ALEXANDER DYCE 427
I observed that Lady Winchelsea was unfortunate in
her models, Pindaricks and Fables; nor does it appear
from her Arisiotnenes that she would have been more
successful than her contemporaries if she had cultivated
tragedy. She had sensibility sufficient for the tender
parts of dramatic writing, but in the stormy and tumultu-
ous she would probably have failed altogether. She
seems to have made it a moral and religious duty to
control her feelings, lest they should mislead her. Of
love, as a passion, she was afraid ; no doubt from a con-
scious inability to soften it down into friendship. I have
often applied two lines of her drama (page 318) to her
affections :
Love's soft bands,
His gentle cords of hyacinths and roses,
Wove in the dewy spring when storms are silent.
By-the-bye, in the next page are two impassioned lines
spoken to a person fainting :
Then let me hug and press thee into life,
And lend thee motion from my beating heart.
From the style and versification of this — so much her
longest work — I conjecture that Lady Winchelsea had
but a slender acquaintance with the drama of the earlier
part of the preceding century. Yet her style in rhyme
is often admirable, chaste, tender, and vigorous ; entirely
free from sparkle, antithesis, and that over-culture which
reminds one — by its broad glare, its stiffness, and heavi-
ness— of the double daisies of the garden, compared
with their modest and sensitive kindred in the fields.
Perhaps I am mistaken, but I think there is a good deal
of resemblance in her style and versification to that of
Tickell, to whom Dr. Johnson justly assigns a high place
428 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
among the minor poets ; and of whom Goldsmith rightly
observes, that there is a strain of ballad-thinking through
all his poetry, and it is very attractive. Pope, in that
production of his boyhood, the Ode to Solitude, and in
his Essay on Criticism^ has furnished proofs that at one
period of his life he felt the charm of a sober and sub-
dued style, which he afterwards abandoned for one that
is — to my taste at least — too pointed and ambitious,
and for a versification too timidly balanced.
If a second edition of your Specimens should be called
for, you might add from Helen Maria Williams the Sonnet
to the Moon, and that to Twilight;'^ and a few more from
Charlotte Smith,* particularly
I love thee, mournful, sober-suited night.
At the close of a sonnet of Miss Seward's * are two fine
verses :
Come, that I may not hear the winds of night,
Nor count the heavy eave-drops as they fall.
You have well characterised the poetic powers of this
lady ; but, after all, her verses please me, with all their
faults, better than those of Mrs. Barbauld,* who, with
much higher powers of mind, was spoiled as a poetess
by being a dissenter, and concerned with a dissenting
academy. One of the most pleasing passages in her
1 Helen Maria Williams (i 762-1 827), author of many poems,
tales, novels, and letters. Compare Wordsworth's Poetical Worh^
Eversley edition, Vol. VIII, p. 209. — Ed.
* Charlotte Smith (i 749-1 806) wrote Elegiac Sonnets, etc., (1784).
— Ed.
* Anna Seward (i 747-1809), called " The Swan of Lichfield," wrote
Original Sonnets, and Odes paraphrased from Horace (1799). — Ed.
^ Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-182 5) wrote Miscellaneous Poems
(1773), Ode to Spring, etc. — Ed.
N
TO ALEXANDER DYCE 429
poetry is the close of the lines upon Life^ written, I
believe, when she was not less than eighty years of age :
Life, we have been long together, etc.*
You have given a specimen of that ever-to-be-pitied vic-
tim of Swift, Vanessa, I have somewhere a short piece
of hers upon her passion for Swift, which well deserves to
be added. But I am becoming tedious, which you will
ascribe to a well-meant endeavour to make you some
return for your obliging attentions.
I remain, dear sir.
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
DXIV
William Wordsworth to John Gardner
Whitehaven (I return home in a few days).
My dear Sir, May ,9th, ,830.
I feel that I ought to thank you for your judicious
letter, and for the pains you have taken towards settling
the question of the eligibility of low-priced publications.
Messrs. Longman talk strangely when they say that
my annual account will show what is advisable. How
can that show anything but what number of purchases I
have had ? It cannot tell me how many I have missed
by the heavy price. Again, Messrs. L. affirm that my
buyers are of that class who do not regard prices; but
that class, never perhaps very large, is every day growing
* On hearing these lines repeated by Henry Crabb Robinson,
Wordsworth exclaimed, " Well, I am not given to envy other people
their good things, but I do wish I had written thatt** — C. W.
430
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
smaller, with the reduced incomes of the time; and,
besides, in this opinion I believe these gentlemen to be
altogether mistaken. My poetry, less than any other of
the day,, is adapted to the taste of the luxurious, and of
those who value themselves upon the privilege of wealth
and station. And though it be true that several passages
are too abstruse for the ordinary reader, yet the main body
of it is as well fitted (if my aim be not altogether missed)
to the bulk of the people — both in sentiment and lan-
guage — as that of any of my contemporaries. I agree with
you (and for the same reason) that nothing can be inferred
from the failure of cheap publication in 's case.
To the above consideration I would add that of the
existence of pirated editions, and above all an apprehen-
sion that there is a growing prejudice against high-priced
books. Indeed, I am inclined to think, with my friend
Mr. Southey, that shortly few books will be purchased
except low-priced ones, or those that are highly orna-
mented, for persons who delight in such luxuries. These
considerations all seem in favour of the experiment which
you recommend. Yet I am far from sure that it would
answer. It is not to be questioned that the perpetually
supplied stimulus of novels stands much in the way of
the purer interest which used to attach to poetry ; and,
although the. novelists, in but very few instances, retain
more than the hold of part of a season upon public atten-
tion, a fresh crop springs up every hour. . . .
If I could persuade myself that the retail bookseller
you speak of is not mistaken in his notion that he could
sell ten copies, or less than half of that number, were the
price something under a pound, when he now sells one^ I
would venture upon such an edition. I ought to say to
you, however, that I have changed my intention of
TO JOHN GARDNER 43 1
making additions at present, and should confine myself to
intermixing the few poems that were published in The
Keepsake of the year before last
I have already stated to you my notions of the extreme
injustice of the law of cop3rright, if it has not been mis-
represented to me, for I never saw the Act of Parlia-
ment ; but I am told that, when an author dies, such of
bis works as have been twice fourteen years before the
public are public property; and that his heirs have no
pecuniary interest in anything that he may leave behind
beyond the same period. My days are, in course of
nature, drawing towards a close ; and I think it would be
best, in order to secure some especial value to any collec-
tion of my works that might be printed after my decease,
to reserve a certain number of new pieces, to be inter-
mingled with that collection. I am acquainted with a
distinguished author who means to hold back during his
lifetime all the corrections and additions in his several
works for the express purpose of benefiting his heirs, by
the superiority which these improvements will give to the
pieces which may have become the property of the public.
I do sincerely hope that the law on this point Will one day
or other be brought nearer to justice and reason. Take only
my own comparatively insignificant case. Many of my
poems have been upwards of thirty years subject to criti-
cism, and are disputed about as keenly as ever, and appear
to be read much more. In fact, thirty years are no ade-
quate test for works of imagination, even from second and
third rate writers, much less from those of the first order, as
we see in the instances of Shakespeare and Milton. . . .
I remain, dear sir,
Faithfully yours,
W. Wordsworth.
432 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DXV
William Wordsworth to Edward Moxon
June 2, 1830.
... As to publishing anything myself, I am not pre-
pared for it, but I believe the edition of my poems of 1827
is now low; and, in consequence of an urgent application,
I have entertained some thoughts of republishing, when
this edition is all sold, in a cheap form — something
under a pound — instead of 45 s., the present price. I
should like to know from experienced persons whether
such a mode of publication would be likely to repay me.
Perhaps you may be able to throw some light on the sub-
jecv. • • •
Very sincerely yours,
W. Wordsworth.
DXVI
William Wordsworth to Sir Walter Scott
Rydal Mount, June 7th, 1830.
My dear Sir Walter,
Being upon a visit lately to Workington Hall, I there
met with the elder brother by the father's side of Mr. Cur-
wen, of that place, — Mr. Christian of Unerigg, in Cum-
berland, and deemster of the Isle of Man. He asked if I
was acquainted with you. I replied that I had for thirty
years, nearly, had that honour, and spoke of you with that
warmth I am accustomed to feel upon such an occasion.
He then told me that Professor Wilson, at his request,
had some time ago undertaken to write to you upon a
TO SIR WALTER SCOTT 433
point in which, innocently, you had been the cause of a
good deal of uneasiness to him. You will guess, perhaps,
that he alluded to the novel Peveril of the Peak, So it
was. The conduct and character of his ancestor. Chris-
tian, had there been represented, he said, in colours
which were utterly at variance with the truth, and threw
unmerited discredit upon his family. He said that the
great historic families of the country were open to the
fictions of men of genius, the facts being known to all
persons of education ; but in the case of a private family
like his, it was very different; a false impression was
easily made, and could not be obviated or corrected in
the present instance, except by an acknowledgment
Erom the author himself. . . . He was prepared, he
said, to furnish you, if you wished it, with documents
unquestionably proving that Christian was entitled to,
and possessed, the gratitude of the Isle-of Manners of
his own and subsequent times, and that he was idolised
in the country as a mart3rr, I suppose in a good cause.
I replied that no one, I was sure, had a greater respect
Eor ancestry than yourself, and that I could not think
you would regard me as an unwarrantable intruder if I
repeated his wish that some notice should be found in
the following edition, by which the reader might be set
right as to the real character of the person who came
to so melancholy an end. . . .
My dear Scott, everlastingly yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
434 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
DXVII
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton \k
June 15, 1830.
. . . Summer is at hand, and I look forward with much
pleasure to the time when you are to fulfil your promise
of bringing your sister here. . . . Therefore do not fail
to come, and I will show you a thousand beauties, and
we will talk over a hundred interesting things. . . .
Has Mr. Edgeworth gone to Italy ? About the same
time that brought your papers, there were lying in my
desk a couple of pages of two several letters which I
have begun to him, and in both of which I was inter-
rupted, and so they never came to a conclusion. If you
are in correspondence with him, pray, in mercy to me,
tell him so ; and if you come soon, I will write to him
with a hope that you will add something to my letter,
to make it acceptable. I know not whether you can
sympathise with me when I say that it is a most pain-
ful effort of resolution to return to an unfinished letter,
which may have been commenced with warmth and spirit
There seems a strange and disheartening gap between
the two periods ; and if the handwriting be bad, as mine
always is, how ugly does the sheet look I . . .
DXVIII
Dorothy Wordsworth to William Pearson
My dear Sir, Rydal Mount, June 22d, 1830.
I promised to write to you on my brother's return from
Moresby ; but alas ! he brought h^s daughter home in a
very weak state. . . .
\
TO WILLIAM PEARSON 435
As far as Dora is concerned, we should be glad to see
you at any time ; but I cannot say when we shall have
no company. At present our house is quite full ; one
of the Misses Southey, and her brother, and a nephew of
Mrs. Wordsworth are here ; and others expected when they
are gone. But this fact ought not to prevent your directing
your pony's head this way when you are disposed to take a
day's holiday, if you can make up your mind to the dis-
appointment of finding my brother not at home, or engaged.
We are much obliged for the copy of your verses on
The Hedgehog, They are interesting, if but as a record
of an incident connected with that harmless, oppressed
creature. . . .
I remain, dear sir.
Your sincere friend,
D. Wordsworth.
P.S. — Since writing the above my brother has met you
at Fell Foot, and I find he has promised to inform you
when we are without company. I am sorry to hear
from him that your looks were not of the best.
DXIX
William Wordsworth to John Gardner
July 16, [1830.]
. . . Will you purchase for me spectacles with side-
glasses ? I do not wish them to be green, nor ordinary
glass ; but there is a kind of a cold bluish tint that subdues
the glary light. . . . My eyes, though so long hampered by
inflammation, are not aged; so that, without being the least
short-sighted, I can read the smallest print without spec-
tacles, though I have for some time used the first size. . . .
436 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DXX
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
Sept 9th, 1830.
. . . We live in a strange sort of way in this country
at the present season. Professor Wilson invited thirty }^
persons to dine with him the other day, though he had
neither provisions nor cook. I have no doubt, however,
that all passed off well; for contributions of eatables
came from one neighbouring house, to my knowledge,
and good spirits, good humour, and good conversation
would make up for many deficiencies. In another house,
a cottage about a couple of miles from the professor's,
were fifty guests, — how lodged^ I leave you to guess, —
only we were told the overflow, after all possible cram-
ming, was received in the offices, farmhouses, etc., adjoin-
ing. All this looks more like what one has been told of
Irish hospitality than aught that the formal English are
up to. . . .
DXXI
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
LowTHER Castle, September 26, 1830.
. . . Did I tell you that Professor Wilson with his two
sons and daughter have been, and probably still are, at
Elleray ? He heads the gaieties of the neighbourhood,
and has presided as steward at two regattas. Do these
emplo3nnents come under your notions of action as op-
posed to contemplation ? Why should they not ? What-
ever the high moralists may say, the political economists
TO WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON 437
will, I conclude, approve them as setting capital afloat ;
and giving an impulse to manufacture and handicrafts,
not to speak of the improvement which may come thence
to navigation and nautical science. . . .
There is another acquaintance of mine also recently
gone — a person for whom I never had any love, but with
whom I had for a short time a good deal of intimacy —
I mean Hazlitt, whose death you may have seen an-
nounced in the papers. He was a man of extraordinary
acuteness, but perverse as Lord Byron himself, whose Life
by Gait I have been skimming since I came here. . . .
DXXII
WilHam Wordsworth to Edwin Hill Hundley
Rydal Mount, Kendal,
October 4th , 1830.
Dear Sir,
I lose no time in replying to your communication,* and
will proceed to the point without ceremony or apology.
I protest, on your behalf, against the competence of
the tribunal whose judgment you are content to abide
by. A question of this moment can be decided only by
and within the mind that proposes it. Allow me to say
that you have reversed the order of judicial proceedings
by appealing from the higher — higher assuredly quoad
hoc — to the lower powers. What more then shall I say?
That your interesting letter evinces extraordinary powers
would be obvious to the dullest and most insensible.
Indeed I may declare with sincerity, that great things
may be expected from one capable of feeling in such a
1 Mr. Handley had sent some of his verses to Wordsworth for
his opinion. This letter is his reply. — £d.
438 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
strain, and expressing himself with so much vigour and
originality. With your verses upon Fumess Abbey I am
in sympathy when I look on the dark side of the subject,
and they are well expressed, except for the phrase " super-
cilious damn " (if I read aright), which is not to my taste.
And now for the short piece that contains the '^ thoughts
of your whole life." Having prepared you for the con-
clusion that neither my own opinion, nor that of any
one else, is worth much as to deciding the point for
which this document is given as evidence, I have no
scruple in telling you honestly that I do not compre-
hend those lines ; but, coming from one able to write
the letter I have just received, I do not think the worse
of them on that account Were any one to show an
acorn to a native of the Orcades who had never seen a
shrub higher than his knee, and by way of giving him a
notion or image of the oak should tell him that its *' lat-
itude of boughs " lies close folded in that " auburn nut,"
the Orcadian would stare, and feel that his imagination
was somewhat unreasonably taxed. So is it with me in
respect to this germ. I do not deny that the "forest's
monarch with his army shade " may be lurking there in
embryo, but neither can I undertake to affirm it There-
fore let your mind, which is surely of a high order, be its
own oracle.
. . . The true standard of poetry is high as the soul of
man has gone, or can go ; of how far my own falls below
that, no one can have such pathetic conviction as my
poor self.
With high respect, I remain, dear sir,
Sincerely yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
TO JOHN ABRAHAM HERAUD 439
Dxxni
William Wordsworth to John Abraham Heraud
Trinity Lodge, Cambridge,
November 23d, [1830.]
Dear Sir,
It gives me much concern that you should have occa-
sion to write to me again, and the more so because the
wish which you have done me the honour of expressing it
is out of my power to gratify. . . . But to say the truth I
read so little, and am so very much less addicted to writ-
ing — especially upon any formal subjects — that though
I should not be without a strong wish to serve you, were
I able to do so, I am conscious that I could not under-
take the task you would put me to, with the least prospect
of benefit to either of us. I am not a critic, and set little
value upon the art. The preface which I wrote long ago
to my own Poems I was persuaded to write by the urgent
entreaties of a friend, and heartily regret I ever had any-
thing to do with it ; though I do not reckon the principles
then advanced erroneous.
Your poem is vigorous, and that is enough for me. I
think it in some places diffuse, in others somewhat rugged,
from the originality of your mind. You feel strongly;
trust to those feelings, and your poem will take its shape
and proportions, as a tree does, from the vital principle
that actuates it. I do not think that great poems can
be cast in a mould. Homer's, the greatest of all, certainly
was not. Trust, again I say, to yourself. . . .
Believe me, with sincere respect,
Your admirer,
Wm. Wordsworth.
440 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DXXIV
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
Trinity Lodge, Cambridge,
November 26, 1830.
I reached this place nine days ago. . . . On the fifth
of November I was a solitary equestrian entering the
romantic little town of Ashford-in-the-Waters, on the
edge of the wilds of Derbyshire, at the close of the day,
when guns were beginning to be let off and squibs to be
fired on every side, so that I thought it prudent to dis-
mount and lead my horse through the place, and so on
to Bakewell, two miles further. You must know how I
happened to be riding through these wild regions. It
was my wish that Dora should have the benefit of her
pony while at Cambridge,, and, very valiantly and eco-
nomically, I determined, unused as I am to horseman-
ship, to ride the creature myself. I sent James with it
to Lancaster ; there mounted, stopped a day at Manches-
ter, a week at Coleorton, and so reached the end of my
journey safe and sound, not, however, without encoun-
tering two days of tempestuous rain. Thirty-seven miles
did I ride in one day through the worst of these storms,
and what was my resource 1 Guess again. Writing verses
to the memory of my departed friend Sir George Beau-
mont, whose house I had left the day before. While
buffeting the other storm I composed a sonnet on the
splendid domain of Chatsworth, which I had seen in the
morning, as contrasted with the secluded habitations of
the narrow dells in the Peak ; and as I passed through
the tame and manufacture-disfigured country of Lanca-
shire, I was reminded, by the faded leaves, of Spring,
TO WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON 441
and threw off a few stanzas of an ode to May. But too
much of self and my own performances upon my steed, a
descendant no douht of Pegasus, though her owner and
present rider knew nothing of it.
Now for a word about Professor Airy. I have seen
him twice, but I did not communicate your message ; it
was at dinner and at an evening party, and I thought it
best not to speak of it till I saw him, which I mean to
do, upon a morning call. There is a great deal of intel-
lectual activity within the walls of this College, and in
the University at large; but conversation turns mainly
upon the state of the country and the late change in the
administration. The fires have extended to within eight
miles of this place, from which I saw one of the worst, if
not absolutely the worst, indicated by a redness in the
sky, a few nights ago. . . . There is an interesting
person in this University for a day or two, whom I have
not yet seen, Kenelm Digby, author of The Broadstone of
Honour^ a book of chivalry, which I think was put into
your hands at Rydal Mount. We have also a respectable
show of blossom in poetry, — two brothers of the name of
Tennyson, one in particular not a little promising. . . .
My daughter has resumed her German labours, and is
not easily drawn from what she takes to. . . . She owes
a long letter to her brother in Germany, who, by-the-bye,
tells us that he will not cease to look out for the book
of Kant you wished for. ...
442 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DXXV
William Wordsworth to George Hunily Gordon
[1830.1
My dear Mr. Gordon,
Thanks for your hint about Rhenish. Strength from
wine is good, from water still better. . . .
One is glad to see tyranny baffled and foolishness put
to shame ; but the French king, and his ministers, will be
unfairly judged by all those who take not into considera-
tion the difficulties of their position. It is not to be
doubted that there has long existed a determination, and
that plans have been laid, to destroy the government
which the French received, as they felt, at the hands of
the allies, and their pride could not bear. Moreover, the
constitution, had it been their own choice, would by this
time have lost favour in the eyes of the French, as not
sufficiently democratic for the high notion that people
entertain of their fitness to govern themselves ; but, for
my own part, I 'd rather fill the office of a parish beadle
than sit on the throne where the Duke of Orleans has
suffered himself to be placed.
The heat is gone ; and, but that we have too much rain
again, the country would be enchanting.
With a thousand thanks, I remain,
Ever yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
TO WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON 443
183I
DXXVI
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
BuxTED Rectory, near Uckfield, Sussex,
24th January, 183 1.
... In the Quarterly Review lately was an article, a
very foolish one I think, upon the decay of science in
England, and ascribing it to the want of patronage from
the government — a poor compliment this to science !
Her hill, it seems, in the opinion of the writer, cannot
be ascended unless the pilgrim be "stuck o'er with titles
and hung round with strings," and have his pockets laden
with cash ; besides, a man of science must be a minister
of state or a privy councillor, or at least a public func-
tionary of importance. Mr. Whewell, of Trinity College,
Cambridge, has corrected the mis-statements of the re-
viewer in an article printed in the British Critic of Janu-
ary last, and vindicated his scientific countrymen. . . .
You are interested about Mr. Coleridge ; I saw him
several times lately, and had long conversations with
him. It grieves me to say that his constitution seems
much broken up. I have heard that he has been worse
since I saw him. His mind has lost none of its vigour,
but he is certainly in that state of bodily health that no
one who knows him could feel justified in holding out the
hope of even an introduction to him, as an inducement
444 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
for your visiting London. Much do I regret this, for
you may pass your life without meeting a man of such
commanding faculties. I hope that my criticisms have
not deterred your sister from poetical composition. The
world has indeed had enough of it lately, such as it is ;
but that is no reason why a sensibility like hers should
not give vent to itself in verse.
DXXVII
William Wordsworth to Henry Taylor^
Rydal Mount, Kendal,
February 23d, [183 1.]
. . . We have had Dr. Arnold * and his family staying
his Christmas vacation at the foot of our hill. They
enjoyed themselves mightily, the weather having been
delightful. The Lords being threatened with destruc-
tion, I say nothing of politics.
Ever faithfully yours,
W. Wordsworth.
DXXVIII
William Wordsworth to Sir George Beaumont
Rydal Mount, Kendal,
My dear Sir George, April 15, [.831.]
The papers inform me that a second son has made his
appearance at Coleorton Hall. We all congratulate you
and Lady Beaumont sincerely upon this happy event.
1 Sir Henry Taylor (1800-1886), author of Philip Van Artevelde,
etc. — Ed.
«Of Rugby.— Ed.
TO EDWARD MOXON 445
May the newly-arrived, and his brother, live to be a bless-
ing to their parents.
I congratulate you also upon having got through your
troublesome office of sheriff ; as it is so much more agree-
able to look back upon such an employment, however
honourable, than to have it in prospect.
My dear sister, though obliged to keep to the habits
and restraints of an invalid for prudence' sake, is, I am
happy to say, in good health. She and Mrs. Wordsworth
join with me in best wishes and regards to yourself and
Lady Beaumont, as would my son and daughter have
done ; but they are now together at his abode, I cannot
say his parsonage (for the living has none), at Moresby,
near Whitehaven.
I remain, my dear Sir George,
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
DXXIX
William Wordsworth to Edward Moxon
9th June, 183 1.
... As to improving the selection in another edition,
I am very sceptical about that. You would find no two
persons agreeing upon what was best; and, upon the
whole, tell Mr. H. that I think he has succeeded fully as
well, if not better, than most other persons would have
done. . . . Mr. Leigh Hunt is a coxcomb, was a cox-
comb, and ever will be a coxcomb.
I am, faithfully yours,
W. Wordsworth.
446 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DXXX
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
Rydal Mount, June 13, 1831.
... I saw little or nothing of Cambridge on my return,
which was upon the eve of the election ; but I found that
the mathematicians of Trinity — Peacock, Airy, Whewell
— were taking what I thought the wrong side; so was
that able man, the geological professor, Sedgwick. But
" what matter ? " was said to me by a lady ; " these peo-
ple know nothing but about stars and stones" ; which is
true, I own, of some of them. . . .
I have scarcely written a hundred verses during the
last twelve months; a sonnet, however, composed the
day before yesterday, shall be transcribed upon this
sheet, by way of making my part of it better worth post-
age. It was written at the request of the painter, Hay-
don, and to benefit him, i.e. as he thought ; but it is no
more than my sincere opinion of his excellent picture. . . .
A selection from my poems has just been edited by
Dr. Hine, for the benefit chiefly of schools and young
persons. . . . Fifteen hundred copies have been struck
off. . . .
DXXXI
Dorothy Wordsworth to the Rowan Hamiltons
[Rydal, 1831.]
... As you, my dear friends, Mr. and Miss Hamilton,
may have discovered by the slight improvement in legi-
bility of penmanship, other hands have been employed
TO BENJAMIN ROBERT HAYDON 447
to finish this letter, which has been on the stocks half
as long as a man-of-war ! . . .
This very moment a letter arrives — very complimen-
tary— from the Master of St. John's College, Cambridge
(the place of my brother William's education), requesting
him to sit for his portrait to some eminent artist, as he
expresses it, '* to be placed in the old house among their
worthies." He writes in his own name, and that of sev-
eral of the Fellows. Of course my brother consents ; but
the difficulty is to fix on an artist^ There never yet has
been a good portrait of my brother. The sketch by
Haydon, as you may remember, is a fine drawing; but
what a likeness ! All that there is of likeness makes it
to me the more disagreeable.
DXXXII
William Wordsworth to Benjamin Robert Haydon
[Rydal] June, 1831.
My dear Haydon,
I send you the sonnet,* and let me have your " King-
dom " for it. What I send you is not warm, but piping-
hot from the brain, whence it came in the wood adjoining
my garden not ten minutes ago, and was scarcely more
than twice as long in coming. You know how much I
admired your picture, both for the execution and the con-
ception. The latter is first-rate, and I could dwell upon
it for a long time in prose, without disparagement to the
former, which I admired also, having to it no objection
1 It was painted by H. W. Pickersgill. — Ed.
2 The sonnet entitled To B. R, Haydon^ on seeing his picture of
Napoleon Bonaparte on the Island of St, Helena, — Ed.
448 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
bat the regimeiitals. They are too spruce, and remind
one of the parade, whkh die wearer seems to have just left
One of the best caricatures I have lately seen is that of
Brougham, a single figure upon one knee, stretching out
his arms by the sea-shore towards die rising sun (William
the Fourth), which, as in duty bound, he is worshipping.
Do not think your excellent picture d^raded, if I remark
that die force of die same principle, simplicity, is seen in
die burlesque composition, as in your work, — widi infi-
nitely less effect, no doubt, from die inferiority of style
and subject ; yet still it b pleasing to note the undercur-
rents oi affinity in opposite styles of art
I think of Napoleon pretty much as you do, but with
more dislike, probably because my thoughts have turned
less upon the flesh-and-blood man than yours ; and there-
fore have been more at liberty to dwell, with unqualified
scorn, upon his various liberticide projects, and the miser-
able selfishness of his spirit. Few men of any time have
been at die head of greater events, yet they seem to have
had no power to create in him the least tendency towards
magnanimity. How, then, with this impression, can I
help despising him ? So much for the idol of thousands.
As to the Reformers, the folly of the ministerial leaders
is only to be surpassed by the wickedness of those who
will speedily supplant them. God of Mercy, have mercy
upon poor England! To think of this glorious country
lackeying the heels of France in religion, that is no
religion, in morals, government, and social order ! It
cannot come to good, at least for the present generation.
They have begun it in shame, and it will lead them to
misery. God bless you.
Yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
TO SIR WALTER SCOTT 449
P.S. — You are at liberty to print the sonnet, with my
name, when and where you think proper. If it does you
the least service, the end for which it is written will be
answered. Call at Moxon's, Bond Street, and let him give
you from me, for your children, a copy of the Selections
he has just published from my poems.
DXXXIII
William Wordsworth to Sir Walter Scott
Rydal Mount (sometimes called Idle Mount, and in
your address of June last misnamed Mount Rydal),
20th July, 183 1.
... I feel truly obliged, dear Sir Walter, by your atten-
tion to Mr. Christian's wishes. He is perfectly satisfied.
When I mentioned the matter to you I had not the least
suspicion of an event being in progress, which has already
connected me with the family of Christian by a tie much
stronger than that of common acquaintance. My eldest
son has been accepted by Miss Curwen, with the entire
approbation of her parents, as her future husband, and
they are soon to be married. She is now upon a visit to
us, and we are quite charmed with her amiable disposi-
tion, her gentleness, her delicacy, her modesty, her sound
sense, and right notions ; so that my son has a prospect
before him as bright as man can wish for. . • .
450 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
DXXXIV
William Wordsworth to Edward Moxon
Rydal, July 21, 1831.
My dear Sir,
... I have an aversion little less than insurmountable
to having anything to do with periodicals. ... If I
could bring myself, out of personal kindness for any edi-
tor or proprietor of a periodical, to contribute, it would
be to the channel of Alaric Watts,^ who has a sort of
claim upon me for literary civilities and intended services
some time ago. . . .
And now may I take the liberty of expressing my
regret that you should have been tempted into this experi-
ment at all ? . . . It strikes me that there is something
like attempting to take the public by storm in putting
forth your personal friends in the way you propose to do.
The public is apt to revolt at any such step. . . .
DXXXV
Dorothy Wordsworth to Mrs, Clarkson
Concluded on Friday, the 9th of September, [1831.]
My dear Friend,
. . . There is just come out a portrait of my brother,
for which he sat when last in London. It is a lithograph of
a chalk drawing by Wilkins, and may be had in Lon-
don. I think it a strong likeness, and so does every one.
^ He refers to Tlie EnglishmatCs Magazine^ which began in Apnl
and ended in October, 1831. — Ed.
TO MRS. CLARKSON 451
Of course, to his own family something is wanting ; nev-
ertheless I value it much as a likeness of him in company,
and something of that restraint with cheerfulness, which
is natural to him in mixed societies. There is nothing of
the poet. . . .
Saturday. This letter was interrupted three weeks ago,
or thereabouts ; and afterwards being unexpectedly called
away to Belle Isle, while John and Isabella were there,
I left it unfinished. I stayed there ten days. It is a
splendid place for a visit such as mine ; but compared
with Rydal Mount dull, and to the feelings confining,
though persons who live there persuade themselves there
is no more trouble in being ferried over to the shore
than in continuing uninterruptedly to walk on.
^ut what I like least in an island as a residence is
the being separated from men, cattle, cottages, and the
goings-on of rural life. John and Isabella are on a
tour in North Wales, and my brother, Dora, and Charles
Wordsworth hope to set off next week on a few days
visit to Sir W. Scott; and, if weather allow, a short tour —
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Loch Lomond, Inverary,
Loch Awe, Loch Etive, and the isle of Mull. We have
friends at that island. Stamp-ofiice business prevented
their setting off some days ago. . . . Dora is to drive
her father in a little carriage of our own, with a very
steady horse. Charles will travel by coach, and on foot,
or as he can. He is a fine, cheerful fellow, and rejoices
in the hope of this little tour, being very fond of both his
uncle and cousin, and glad of the opportunity of seeing a
person of so much importance as Sir Walter. Poor man!
his health is shattered by a recurrence of slight paralytic
strokes, but his mind is active as ever. He would write
eight hours in the day if allowed by the physicians, but
452 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
it is the worst thing he can do ; and most likely it is rather
to divert him from study, than for benefits expected from
the climate, that he has been advised to winter in Italy.
He has fixed on leaving Abbotsford at the end of this
month to proceed to Naples. The young William is still
here; but on the 20th of next month is to begin resi-
dence at Carlisle as sub-distributor there — a good put-
ting on (for it is about ;^i8o per annum) till something
better fall out, or as long as things are allowed to remain
as they are. But, to tell you the truth, so many changes
are going on, I consider nothing as stable ; and do expect
that the sovereign people to whom our rulers bow so
obsequiously will not long endure the stamp office, and
its distributors, or the national debt, or anything else that
now is.
In October we expect Mr. Jones, the companion of my
brother forty years ago over the Alps. He looks back
to that journey as the golden and sunny spot in his life.
It would delight you to hear the pair talk of their adven-
tures. My brother, active, lively, and almost as strong
as ever on a mountain top ; Jones, fat and roundabout
and rosy, and puffing and panting while he climbs the
little hill from the road to our house. Never was there a
more remarkable contrast ; yet time seems to have strength-
ened the attachment of the native of Cambrian mountains
to his Cumbrian friend. We also expect Mr. Quillinan
in October. Whether he will leave his daughter Rotha
(his youngest born) with us for the winter, or take her to
school, I know not. Jemima is at school near Paris, and
as Dora does not like to part with her godchild, perhaps
it may be settled that she remain here till spring. She
is an interesting and very clever child, the image of her
father. We never saw the Tillbrooks but at church, and
TO MRS. CLARKSON 453
did not exchange a word with either of them. It is of no
use to enter on a painful history; enough to say that
both Tillbrook and his wife so misrepresented the truth
in regard to Dora's refusal of Mr. Ayling's offer of mar-
riage, that we could have no satisfaction in holding inter-
course with them, and therefore we never entered their
door. For your own -private ear I will just say that Mrs.
T. is what the world calls a fascinating woman, and that
there is an appearance of simplicity and frankness about
her which won Dora's heart, and we all liked her much.
During the intercourse which continued a little while
between Dora and her, after D.'s refusal, we had cause
to think her a person whom we should not desire to be
closely connected with. ... If you would come next
summer for one month, two, or three — or as long as you
liked — Mrs. Luff would consent cheerfully to let you
keep house, and would be your guest. Now, is it not
possible that the thing might be? Surely it is. But I
feel inclined neither to talk, think, nor plan about such
a scheme. If circumstances favour, no need of plan-
ning. You would have only to resolve and propose, and
the thing is done. At sixty years of age, scheming is
not the amusement one is inclined to resort to. The cer-
tainty of death, its near approach, and the sudden changes
continually happening among those who were young when
we were, absolutely check in me all disposition to form
plans. . . . My brother was lately at Lowther, and called
with Lord Lonsdale on Thomas Wilkinson. He was
cheerful, though quite blind. . . .
454 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DXXXVI
William Wordsworth to John Kenyon
Rydal Mount, Sept 9th.
[Postmark, Sept 13, 1831.]
My dear Mr. Kenyon,
Your letter, which reached me at the breakfast table,
as my letters generally do, was truly acceptable to myself
and to all of us. . . . At Nottingham that poetry, upon
which you are so good-naturedly copious, stood me in good
stead. I had not an acquaintance in that large town, but
I introduced myself and told our distresses to a brother
and sister of the lyre, William and Mary Howitt, and
they were as kind to us as all poets and poetesses ought
to be to each other; offering their house as a place of
retreat from the noise and tumult of the elections which
were to begin the next day. In twelve days Mary and
Dora followed me home. And here we are with William,
who is to be fixed at Carlisle as my sub-distributor in
about a month from this time. John and his wife have
been with us; and Dora and I are going to see Sir
Walter Scott at Abbotsford, before his departure for
Naples, where he intends to winter for the benefit of his
health. Had I not feared that you might have left St.
Leonards, I would have kept this letter, with the hope of
making it more interesting to you and Mrs. K. by some
account of that great man, and the many things and
objects he has about him, which you would have been
pleased to hear of, and which he is going to leave so
soon upon what may prove a melancholy errand.
The summer that is over has been with us, as well as
with you, a brilliant one for sunshine and fair and calm
TO JOHN KENYON 455
weather ; brilliant also for its unexampled gaiety in regat-
tas, balls, dejeuners, picnics by the lakeside, on the islands,
and on the mountain tops, fireworks by night, dancing
on the greensward by day ; in short a fever of pleasure
from mom to dewy eve, from dewy eve till break of day.
Our youths and maidens, like Chaucer's squire, " have
slept no more than doth the nightingale," and our old
men have looked as bright as Tithonus when his withered
cheek reflected the blushes of Aurora, upon her first
declaration of her passion for him. In the room where I
am now dictating, we had, three days ago, a dance —
forty beaux and belles, besides matrons, ancient spinsters,
and greybeards — and to-morrow in this same room we
are to muster for a venison feast. Why are you not here,
either to enjoy or to philosophise upon this dissipation ?
Our party to-morrow is not so large but that we could
find room for you and Mrs. Kenyon. The disturbed
state of the Continent is no doubt the reason why, in spite
of the Reform Bill, such multitudes of pleasure hunters
have found their way this summer to the Lakes.
After so much levity, Mary shall transcribe for you a
serious stanza or two, intended for an inscription in a part
of the grounds of Rydal Mount with which you are not
acquainted, a field adjoining our garden which I pur-
chased two or three years ago. Under the shade of
some pollard oaks, and on a green terrace in that field,
we have lived no small part of the long bright days of
the summer gone by ; and in a hazel nook of this favour-
ite piece of ground is a stone, for which I wrote one day
the following serious inscription. You will forgive its
egotism.
In these fair vales hath many a tree
At Wordsworth's suit been spared,
456 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
And from the builder's hand tiiis sUme,
For some rude beauty of its own.
Was rescued by the bard ;
Long may it rest in peace ! and here
Perchance the tender-hearted
Will heave a gende sigh for him
As one of the departed.
. . . How sorry I am that Mr. Bailey should have gone
as far as Ceylon ignorant of the fact that I never have
received his book, nor before the receipt of your letter
was aware of the intended favour! How came your
brother to go from Manchester into Scotland without
taking us by the way? but perhaps he steamed it from
Liverpool. Tillbrook has offered his house and furniture
for sale by private treaty, the price two thousand guineas;
mtre nous^ eight hundred more than its worth, except for
fancy. Adieu ; every one here — to wit, self and spouse,
son and daughter, sister and sister in something better
than law — joins in kindest regards to you and Mrs. Ken-
yon, and to your brother when you write to him. Fare-
well again.
Very affectionately yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
We shall always, not merely " now and then," be glad
to hear from you. You asked how I had "things from
London." Pamphlets, etc., sent to J. Richardson, 91
Royal Exchange, are forwarded if directed to me under
cover to Hudson & Nicholson, Booksellers, Kendal.
TO SIR WALTER SCOTT 457
DXXXVII
William Wordsworth to Sir Walter Scott
^# A c- wu Carlisle, Sept. 16, [183 1.]
My dear Sir Walter,
" There's a man wi' a veil, and a lass drivin'," exclaimed
a little urchin, as we entered merry Carlisle a couple of
hours ago, on our way to Abbotsford. . . .
A nephew of mine,^ a student of Christchurch — and I
may add, a distinguished one — to whom I could not but
allow the pleasure of accompanying us, has taken the
Newcastle road into Scotland, hoping to join me at
Abbotsford. If he should arrive before us, let him be
no restraint upon you whatever. Let him loose in your
library, or on the Tweed with his fishing-rod, or in the
stubble with his gun (he is but a novice of a shot, by-
the-bye), and he will be no trouble to any part of your
family.
I am, very affectionately yours,
W. W.
DXXXVIII
Sarah Hutchinson to Edward Quillinan ^
My dear Friend, [Oct ,st. 183..]
The enclosed has been long sticking in the china quart
upon the mantelpiece waiting for an opportunity to be
forwarded, as we did not think it worth double postage,
and now when the opportunity has arrived we know not
1 Charles, afterwards Bishop Wordsworth of St. Andrews. — Ed.
^ No date or postmark, Oct. i, 1831. — Ed.
458 SARAH HUTCHINSON
how to direct to you, so shall enclose it to Eliza (to whom
a letter yesterday was scrawled in much haste), who is
possibly still in B. street. This is the first day of October,
and we hope you are beginning to think of your journey
hitherward, though it is but fair to tell you that our
Master and Dora will not be at home till the 23d or 24th.
Charles Wordsworth, who has been with them at Abbots-
ford, is on his return ; we expect him this evening. Their
journey seems to have been very pleasant so far — though
they were just in time to see Sir Walter, as he set out for
Naples last Friday week, and they did not reach Abbots-
ford till the preceding Monday; but they spent three days
there most agreeably, and found their host better than
they had hoped, or the newspapers for some time have
allowed him to be. To-day they were to reach Bonaw
upon Loch Etive, and I suppose on Monday they will
go to Mull, where they are to remain a few days with Col.
and Mrs. Campbell, our old Allan Bank neighbours. Mr.
Wordsworth's eyes have gradually improved during the
journey and are now nearly quite well. D.^ says noth-
ing of her own health, but as she appears to enjoy herself
so much we trust it is good, and if the weather continues
tolerable, I doubt not they will both return in good plight;
but here we have at present true Westmoreland weather —
though not entirely wet, yet very close, hot, and unwhole-
some. Notwithstanding, we are all well, and your little
darling has been as good as possible ever since she
came hither. So I suppose her native air is salutary.
She is also as good as possible and continues to be the
delight of the whole household.
If you are still at Bath this letter may not reach you —
as probably you will come hither without returning to
1 Dora Wordsworth. — Ed.
TO EDWARD QUILLINAN 459
town, in which case I shall be very angry with you if
you do not give our friends at Brinsop * a call as it will
be in your most direct road. Ro.^ has a very pretty letter
from Mima,* who seems to be very happy at her new school,
though she wishes to see Rotha and Eliza much. I shall
not write you any news or gossip, because I do not ex-
pect you will receive this letter, but if you do you must
wait patiently till we meet.
My sister and Miss Wordsworth join in kindest regards,
and believe me,
Ever your true friend, __
o* xl*
DXXXIX
John Wordsworth * to Dora Wordsworth
BuxTED, October 17th, 1831.
My dear Dora,
If you ever think of me at all, and I should be sorry to
believe you did not, you will be not a little surprised at
receiving a letter from me dated Buxted, at a time when
you imagine me perhaps almost arrived at the antipodes.
I will not trouble you at present with the reasons which
have induced me to postpone my visit to the other hemi-
sphere ; suffice it to say that they might be divided and
subdivided into almost as many sections as a sermon of
the old divines, or as the conclusion of one which my
father preached yesterday evening and which might fairly
1 Brinsop Court in Herefordshire. — Ed.
3 Rotha Quillinan. — Ed.
* Jemima Quillinan, her sister.' — Ed.
^ The son of the Master of Trinity, and cousin of his correspond,
ent. — Ed.
46o JOHN WORDSWORTH
be compared to a cat of nine tails. In writing this letter
I have another object. For the last three months I have
been settled at Buxted, and have scarcely exchanged one
word with any rational creature except my father and his
curate, and I have lately been working hard at some
papers which are to appear in the next number of the
Museum Criticum^ of which Mr. Rose is the editor. I
have just now completed my task, and after taking such
a "desperate draught" of Greek and Latin in the con-
templative seclusion of Buxted, I begin to long for an
escape from books and solitude.
I have promised to spend a few days at Birmingham,
and I hope to be there on Thursday next. If you can
either give or procure me a lodging in your neighbour-
hood, I should be very glad to continue my journey
northward ; but if it is in the slightest degree inconvenient
to my uncle to receive me, I hope you will tell me so with-
out any reserve, and I shall then indulge my vagabond
propensities in some other direction. Will you let me
know whether I may proceed northward or no by a few
lines directed to Bingley ? My father is remarkably well.
Our life here as you may guess has been somewhat monot-
onous, and we should have been in danger of stagnation
if we had not found plenty of materials for conversation
in the madness and wickedness of the Ministry, who have
plunged the country and themselves into an abyss of dif-
ficulty and danger, from which it can scarcely be extri-
cated by human means. The accounts given in the
newspapers of the riots and disturbances in London are
very much exaggerated. This is one of the artifices
employed to propagate tumult, by that press which has
strained every sinew to goad the . people into rebellion.
There can be no doubt that a great reaction has taken
TO DORA WORDSWORTH 461
place in the popular opinion in favour of reform, but we
can derive but little hope from this while we have a Min-
istry obstinately determined to stake everything upon the
success of this measure, and a House of Commons dumb
in support of reform, and deaf and blind to everything
against it. The post is just going out, and I have only
time to add our united love to all at Rydal. . . .
Believe me, my dear Dora,
Ever your very affectionate cousin,
John Wordsworth.
DXL
Dorothy Wordsworth to William Pearson
Rydal Mount, October 20th, 1831.
My dear Sir,
My nephew, being particularly engaged with office busi-
ness during Mr. Carter's absence (who is keeping holiday
at Liverpool), has desired me to return you his best
thanks for your letter, and for all the pains you have
taken to procure a horse.
As perhaps you may have heard, William and his father
set off a few days ago to look after one or more of the
horses you had mentioned; and fortunately fell in with
the grey, and its owner. In some respects they were
much pleased with it; but the man asked ;^3o for it,
which they thought too much, and besides, he was not
ready to warrant its soundness, but only said, he " would
pass it." These considerations induced my brother,
with his son, to go to Crook yesterday, and there they
actually made a bargain, not for the Crook Hall grey.
462 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
but for a bay horse, which they hope will answer their
purpose.
It is an admirable walker, but unused to trotting, hav-
ing only been put to carting and ploughing. We expect
the horse to-day, and as soon as it has had a fair trial it
is to be sent to Moresby to bring home Mrs. Words-
worth; and soon after her return it may possibly have
the honour of conveying the poet and his daughter to
Abbotsford, to visit Sir Walter Scott! This visit has
long been promised, but the late accounts of Sir Walter's
health having been very bad, we were fearful that the
visit might never be accomplished. I am happy, how-
ever, to tell you that a friend of oifrs who has just been
on a visit at Abbotsford informs us that Sir Walter is
much better at present, and quite able to enjoy the soci-
ety of friends. This information has determined my
brother to think seriously of the journey; and if Sir
Walter continues as well as he is at present, it will prob-
ably be accomplished during the autumn. ...
My brother and William would have been very glad to
call on you yesterday, but the additional three miles
would have made the ride too long for him. As it was,
he was a good deal fatigued, not being so clever on
horseback as on foot. . . .
I am, dear sir.
Yours sincerely,
Dorothy Wordsworth.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 463
DXLI
William Wordsworth to Basil Montagu
[Postmark, Oct. 22, 1831.]
On my return from an excursion in Scotland two days
ago I found the fourteenth volume of Bacon,^ together
with your note of the 9th of August, left here by Mr.
Romilly. On the question of the punishment by death
you have written with much ability. For my own part,
I am decidedly of opinion that, in the case of forgery,
both humanity and pdlicy require that an experiment
should be made to ascertain whether it cannot be dis-
pensed with.
I am glad that you are proceeding with the life of
Bacon. You say that he was sacrificed to Buckingham.
Have you read a letter of Buckingham's to him in
which he charges him with the intention of sacrificing
him (Buckingham) as he had betrayed all his patrons
and friends in succession ? Buckingham enumerates the
cases. It has always appeared to me that much of the
odium attached to Lord Bacon's name on account of cor-
rupt practices arose out of ignorance respecting the spirit
of those times, and the way in which things were carried
on. . . . Travelling agrees with me wonderfully. I am
as much Peter Bell as ever, and since my eyelids have
been so liable to inflammation, after much reading espe-
cially, I find nothing so feeding to my mind as change of
scene, and rambling about ; and my labours, such as they
are, can be carried on better in the fields and on the
roads, than anywhere else. ...
^ Montagu was then editing Bacoii's works. — Ed.
464 I^ORA WORDSWORTH
DXLII
Dora Wordsworth to Miss Hamilton (Rowan
Hamilton's Sister)
Rydal Mount, October 26, 1831.
My dear Miss Hamilton,
. . . Father and I were among the Highlands when
your brother's last letter arrived — a late season for tour-
ing, you may think, and so it was; but the additional
beauty given to the colouring of the woods by October's
workmanship,^ and to the mountains by her mists and
vapours and rainbows, reflected again and again both in
the waters and on the clouds, more than compensated for
shortened days and broken weather. Father has called
Scotland the '< Land of Rainbows/' I, who had never
been in Scotland, was more delighted than words can
tell ; but it may be I am not an unprejudiced judge. I
could not look at Inversnaid,
The lake, the bay, the waterfall,*
nor at that
Wild Relique ! beauteous as the chosen spot
In Nysa's isle, the embellished Grot,*
with common eyes. Almost every spot of peculiar inter-
est was interesting to me for my father's sake, more so
^ Compare the line in the sonnet on TTie Trossachs —
October's workmanship to rival May. — Ed.
2 See To a Highland Girl, 1. 77, Poetical Works, Eversley edition,
Vol. II, p. 392. — Ed.
* See The Brownie^ Cell, stanza x, Poetical Works, Eversley edi-
tion, Vol. VI, p. 20. — Ed.
TO MISS HAMILTON 465
ftven than for its own. And Yarrow too, and " Newark's
towers "; and here I was introduced, not only by my
father, but by Sir Walter Scott ; so one cannot imagine
% place seen under happier circumstances. Our main
object in leaving home was a visit to Abbotsford, which
bad long been promised ; and Sir Walter's state of health,
and his great wish to see my father, determined him to
undertake the journey, late in the year as it was, and bad
as were his eyes. When so near Edinburgh, it was a
pity to return without a peep at that fine city; and
then, finding travelling agreed with his eyes, we crept
on into the Highlands, and as far as Mull. Staffa was
the height of my travelling ambition, but that we could
not accomplish; the steamboat had ceased to ply, and
it was much too late to trust our precious lives to an
open boat. ... I will only add a sonnet which was
written a day or two after we left Abbotsford, which
was only the day before Sir Walter was to quit it for
Italy, and for his health's sake :
A trouble, not of clouds, or weeping rain, etc.
. . . All are well, father, mother, and aunts, the first-
mentioned still prophesying ruin and desolation to this
hitherto flourishing spot of earth. The evil which he
foresees from this dreadful Reform Bill quite weighs his
spirit down. Our tour was a happy event, for it gave
fresh impulse to his muse, and he has been able to drown
his political thoughts and feelings for a time in his poet-
ical ones. We did not see a newspaper for five weeks,
and only heard by accident of the bill being kicked out
— were we not to be envied ? But I have got to we^ and
Scotland again ! . . .
466 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
. . . We have at present with os a very dear and old
friend of my father's, Mr. Jones, his traveUing compamon
in the pedestrian tour over the Alps. He lives in Wales,
of which country, as his name tells, he is a native. . . .
Your affectionate friend,
Dora Wordsworth.
DXLIII
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
Rydal Mount, October 27, 1831.
... In a former letter you mention Francis Edge-
worth. . . . He was struck with my mention of a sound
in the eagle's notes much and frequently resembling the
yelping and barking of a dog, and quoted a passage in
^schylus where the eagle is called the flying hound of
the air ; and he suggested that ^schylus might not only
allude by that term to his being a bird of chase or prey,
but also to this barking voice, which I do not recollect
ever hearing noticed. The other day I was forcibly
reminded of the circumstances under which the pair of
eagles were seen that I described in my letter to Mr.
Edgeworth, his brother. (It was at the promontory of
Fair-head, on the coast of Antrim, and no spectacle could
be grander.) At Dunolly Castle — a ruin situated at the
tip of one of the horns of the bay of Oban — I saw, the
other day, one of these noble creatures cooped up among
the ruins, and was incited to give vent to my feelings, as
you shall now see :
Dishonoured rock and ruin ! that by law, etc.^
1 See Poetical Works, Vol. VII, p. 292.— Ed
TO WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON 467
You will naturally wish to hear something of Sir Walter
Scott, and particularly of his health. I found him a good
deal changed within the last three or four years, in con-
sequence of some shocks of the apoplectic kind, but his
friends say that he is very much better; and the last
accounts, up to the time of his going on board, were still
more favourable. I trust the world and his friends may
be hopeful, with good reason, that the life and faculties
of this man — who has during the last six-and-twenty
years diffused more innocent pleasure than ever fell to
the lot of any human being to do in his own lifetime —
may be spared. Voltaire, no doubt, was full as exten-
sively known, and filled a larger space probably in the
eye of Europe ; for he was a great theatrical writer (which
Scott has not proved himself to be) and miscellaneous
to such a degree that there was something for all classes of
readers; but the pleasure afforded by his writings — with
the exception of some of his tragedies and minor poems
— was not pure, and in this Scott is greatly his superior.
As Dora has told your sister. Sir W. was our guide to
Yarrow ; the pleasure of that day induced me to add a
third to the two poems upon Yarrow — Yarrow Revisited,
It is in the same measure, and as much in the same
spirit as matter of fact would allow. You are artist
enough to know that it is next to impossible entirely to
harmonise things that rest upon their poetic credibility,
and are idealised by distance of time and space, with
those that rest upon the evidence of the hour, and have
about them the thorny points of actual life. ...
468 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DXLIV
William Wordsworth to Lady Frederick Bentinck^
^, J X J X. J . , Rydal Mount, Nov. 9.
My dear Lady Fredenck,
. . . You are quite right, dear Lady Frederick, in con-
gratulating me on my late ramble in Scotland. For more
than a month I scarcely saw a newspaper, or heard of
their contents. During this time we almost forgot, my
daughter and I, the deplorable state of the country. My
spirits rallied, and, with exercise — for I often walked
scarcely less than twenty miles a day — and the employ-
ment of composing verses amid the most beautiful scenery,
and at a season when the foliage was most rich and
varied, the time fled away delightfully; and when we
came back into the world again, it seemed as if I had
waked from a dream that was never to return. We trav-
elled in an open carriage with one horse, driven by Dora;
and while we were in the Highlands I walked most of
the way by the side of the carriage, which left us leisure
to observe the beautiful appearances. The rainbows and
coloured mists floating about the hills were more like
enchantment than anything I ever saw, even among the
Alps. There was in particular, the day we made the
tour of Loch Lomond in the steamboat, a fragment of a
rainbow, so broad, so splendid, so glorious with its reflec-
tion in the calm water, that it astonished every one on
board; a party of foreigners especially, who could not
refrain from expressing their pleasure in a more lively
manner than we are accustomed to.
My object in going to Scotland so late in the season
was to see Sir Walter Scott before his departure. We
1 Lord Lonsdale's daughter. — Ed.
TO LADY FREDERICK BENTINCK 469
stayed with him three days, and he quitted Abbotsford
the day after we left it. His health has undoubtedly
been much shattered by successive shocks of apoplexy,
but his friends say he is so much recovered that they
entertain good hopes of his life and faculties being spared.
Mr. Lockhart tells me that he derived benefit by a change
of treatment made by his London physicians, and that
he embarked in good spirits.
As to public affairs, I have no hope but in the good-
ness of Almighty God. The Lords have recovered much
of the credit they had lost by their conduct in the Roman
Catholic question. As an Englishman I am deeply grate-
ful for the stand which they have made, but I cannot
help fearing that they may be seduced or intimidated.
Our misfortune is, that those who disapprove of this
monstrous bill give way to a belief that nothing can
prevent its being passed ; and therefore they submit.
As to the cholera, I cannot say it appals me much ;
it may be in the order of Providence to employ this
scourge for bringing the nation to its senses ; though his-
tory tells us in the case of the plague at Athens, and
other like visitations, that men are never so wicked and
depraved as when afflictions of that kind are upon them.
So that, after all, one must come round to our only sup-
port, submission to the will of God, and faith in the ulti-
mate goodness of his dispensations.
I am sorry you did not mention your son, in whose health
and welfare and progress in his studies I am always much
interested. Pray remember me kindly to Lady Caroline.
All here join with me in presenting their kindest remem-
brances to yourself ; and believe me, dear Lady Frederick,
Faithfully and affectionately yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
470 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DXLV
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
November 22, 1831.
. . . Again and again I must repeat, that the composi-
tion of verse is infinitely more of an art than men are
prepared to believe, and absolute success in it depends
upon innumerable minutia, which it grieves me you should
stoop to acquire a knowledge of. Milton says of pouring
"easy his unpremeditated verse." It would be harsh,
untrue, and odious to say there is anything like cant in
this ; but it is not true to the letter, and tends to mis-
lead. I could point out to you five hundred passages in
Milton, upon which labour has been bestowed, and twice
five hundred more to which additional labour would have
been serviceable ; not that I regret the absence of such
labour, because no poem contains more proof of skill
acquired by practice.^ . . .
Coleridge's most intimate friend is Mr. Green, a man
of science, and a distinguished surgeon. If you could
procure an introduction to him, he would let you know
the state of Coleridge's health ; and to Mr. Green, whom
I once saw, you might use my name with a view to further
your wish, if at all needful.
Shakespeare's sonnets (excuse this leap) are not upon
the Italian model, which Milton's are; they are merely
quatrains with a couplet tacked to the end ; and if they
depended much on the versification, they would unavoid-
ably be heavy.
^ Than Paradise Lost, he doubtless means. — Ed.
'
TO WILLIAM ROWAN HAMILTON 471
One word upon Reform in Parliament, a subject to
^hich somewhat reluctantly you allude. You are a
reformer I Are you an approver of the bill as rejected
by the Lords? or, to use Lord Grey's words, anything
" as efficient " ? (he means — if he means anything —
efficient for producing change). Then I earnestly
exhort you to devote hours and hours to the study of
human nature, in books, in life, and in your own mind ;
and beg and pray that you will mix with society, not in
Ireland and Scotland only, but in England. There is
a fount of destiny, which if once poisoned, away goes
all hope of quiet progress in well-doing. The Constitu-
tion of England — which seems about to be destroyed
— offers to my mind the sublimest contemplation which
the history of Society and Government have ever pre-
sented to it, — and for this cause especially, that its princi-
ples have the character of preconceived ideas, archetypes
of the pure intellect, while they are in fact the results of
a humble-minded experience. Think about this. Apply
it to what we are threatened with, and farewell. • . .
DXLVI
Dorothy Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, Friday, Decembe.r ist, 1831.
My dear Friend,
Had a rumour of your arrival in England reached us
before your letter of yesterday's post you would ere this
have received a welcoming from me, in the name of each
member of this family; and further would have been
reminded of your promise to come to Rydal as soon as
472 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
possible after again setting foot on English ground. When \i
Dora heard of your return, and of my intention to write,
she exclaimed — after a charge that I would recall to your
mind your written promise — " He must come and spend
Christmas with us, I wish he would ! '' Thus you see,
notwithstanding your petty jarrings, Dora was always,
and now is, a loving friend of yours. I am sure I need
not add that if you can come at the time mentioned, so
much the more agreeable to us all, for it is fast approach-
ing ; but that whenever it suits you (for you may have
Christmas engagements with your own family) to travel
so far northward we shall be rejoiced to see you ; and
whatever other visitors we may chance to have, we shall
always be able to find a corner for you. At present,
though our nephew John, of Cambridge, is here, we have
a vacant spare room which will most likely, if you do not
come to occupy it, remain so during most part of the win-
ter. We are thankful that you are returned with health
unimpaired, I may say indeed, amended ; for you were
not perfectly well when you left England.
As to your being older, if you mean feebler in mind,
my brother says, "No such thing; his judgment has
only now attained autumnal ripeness." Indeed, my dear
friend, I wonder not at your alarms, or those of any
good man — whatever may have been the course of his
politics from youth to middle age and onward to the
decline of life, — but I will not enter on this sad, and
perplexing, subject. I find it much more easy to look
with calmness on the approach of pestilence, or any
afRiction which it may please God to cast upon us with-
out the intervention of man, than on the dreadful results
of sudden and rash changes, whether arising from ambi-
tion, or ignorance, or brute force; but I am getting into
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 473
the subject without intending it, so will conclude with a
prayer that God may enlighten the heads and hearts of
our men of power, whether Whigs or Tories, and that the
madness of the deluded people may settle. This last
efEect can only be produced, I fear, by exactly and se-
verely executing the law,V seeking out and punishing the
guilty, and letting all persons see that we do not willingly
oppress the poor. One blessing seems already to be
coming upon, and through, the alarm of the cholera.
Every rich man is now obliged to look into the miser-
able by-lanes and corners inhabited by the poor, and many
crying abuses are (even in our little town of Ambleside)
about to be remedied. But to return to pleasant Rydal
Mount, still cheerful and peaceful. If it were not for
the newspapers, we should know nothing of the turbu-
lence of our great towns and cities. Yet my poor brother
is often heart-sick and almost desponding, and no wonder;
for unto the point at which we are arrived, he has been a
true prophet as to the course of events, dating from the
** great days of July " and the appearance of the reform
bill, " the whole bill, and nothing but the bill." It re-
mains for us now to hope that Parliament may meet in a
different temper from that in which it parted, and that
the late dreadful events may make each man seek only to
promote the peace and prosperity of the country. You
will say that my brother looks older. He is certainly
thinner, and has lost some of his teeth, but his bodily
activity is not at all diminished ; and if it were not for
public affairs his spirits would be as cheerful as ever.
He and Dora visited Sir Walter Scott just before his
^ Of late the greatest criminals have gone on undiscovered, or, if
discovered, unpuxushed. — D. W.
474 DOROTHY WORDSWORTH
departure, and made a little tour in the western High-
lands ; and — such was his leaning to old pedestrian hab-
its— he often walked from fifteen to twenty miles in a day,
following or by the side of the little carriage of which his
daughter was the charioteer. They both very much en-
joyed the tour, and my brother actually brought home a
set of poems, the product of that journey. . . . You will
be glad to hear also that my niece is grown strong and
healthy.
Her brother John is happily married and lives at
Moresby, near Whitehaven, being rector of Moresby.
His wife is one of the best of good creatures. William
returned from Germany much improved, and with strong
likings to that country. He is now living at Carlisle
very contented, if our financiers will suffer him so to
remain, on an income of ;^i5o per annum, as his father's
subdistributor. Miss Hutchinson is well, and begs her
kind regards to you. It recorfciled me in some degree
to my misdoings to hear that some of your friends' letters
had miscarried during your wanderings. The truth is,
that in spite of wishes and intentions, and of gratitude
and pleasure for your most interesting letter from Rome,
I did not once write. . . . We were glad you had seen
Charles and Mary Lamb and Mrs. Clarkson, and thank-
ful for as good a report of them as we had a right to
expect. My brother. Dr. Wordsworth, is in much better
health than last winter. His son John was ill for some
time after getting his Fellowship, but is now in tolerable
health, and seems to be very happy among us, though we
have each and all our share of apprehension and uneasi-
ness. Fires, riots, and burking, not to speak of chol-
era, haunt every family circle. This morning is so warm
and sunny that I now sit opposite an open window.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 475
Were you here on this day you would say our country
wants not summer, and leafy trees, to make it beautiful.
We shall expect and wish for your promised long
letter, if you do not write a short one to tell us that you
are coming.
I could fill my scraps of paper, under the seal, etc.,
but am called away, so God bless you.
Ever your aflfectionate friend,
D. Wordsworth.
Christopher Wordsworth is in Italy. Charles has pupils
at Oxford.^
DXLVII
William Wordsworth to J. K, Miller^
Rydal Mount, Kendal, Dec. 17, 1831.
My dear Sir, •
You have imputed my silence, I trust, to some cause
neither disagreeable to yourself nor unworthy of me.
Your letter of the 26th of November had been misdirected
to Penrith, where the postmaster detained it some time,
expecting probably that I would come to that place,
which I have often occasion to visit. When it reached
me I was engaged in assisting my wife to make out
some of my mangled and almost illegible MSS, which
inevitably involved me in endeavours to correct and
improve them. My eyes are subject to frequent inflam-
mations, of which I had an attack (and am still suffering
from it) while that was going on. You would, neverthe-
less, have heard from me almost as soon as I received
1 W. E. Gladstone was one of them. — Ed.
^ The Vicar of Walkeringham in Nottingham. — Ed.
476 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
your letter could I have replied to it in terms in any d^ee
accordant to my wishes. Your exhortations troubled me
in a way you cannot be in the least aware of; for I
have been repeatedly urged by some of my most valued
friends, and at times by my own conscience, to undertake
the task you have set before me. But I will deal frankly
with you. A conviction of my incompetence to do jus-
tice to the momentous subject has kept me, and I fear
will keep me, silent. My sixty-second year will soon be
completed, and though I have been favoured thus far in
health and strength beyond most men of my age, yet I
feel its effects upon my spirits ; they sink under a pressure
of apprehension to which, at an earlier period of my life,
they would probably have been superior. There is yet
another obstacle : I am no ready master of prose writing,
having been little practised in the art. This last con-
sideration will not weigh with you; nor would it have
done with myself a few years ago ; but the bare mention
of it will serve to show that years have deprived me of
courage, in the sense the word bears when applied by
Chaucer to the animation of birds in spring time.
What I have already said precludes the necessity of
otherwise confirming your assumption that I am opposed
to the spirit you so justly characterise as revolutionary.
To your opinions upon this subject my judgment (if I
may borrow your own word) " responds." Providence is
now trying this empire through her political institu-
tions. Sound minds find their expediency in principles;
unsound, their principles in expediency. On the pro-
portion of these minds to each other the issue depends.
From calculations of partial expediency in opposition
to general principles, whether those calculations be gov-
erned by fear or presumption, nothing but mischief is to
TO J. K. MILLER 477
be looked for ; but, in the present stage of our afiEairs,
the class that does the most harm consists of well-inten-
tioned men, who, being ignorant of human nature, think
that they may help the thorough-paced reformers and
revolutionists to a certain point, then stop, and that the
machine will stop with them. After all, the question is,
fundamentally, one of piety and morals ; of piety, as dis-
posing men who are anxious for social improvement to
wait patiently for God's good time ; and of morals, as
guarding them from doing evil that good may come, or
thinking that any ends can be so good as to justify wrong
means for attaining them. In fact, means, in the concerns
of this life, are infinitely more important than ends, which
are to be valued mainly according to the qualities and
virtues requisite for their attainment ; and the best test
of an end being good is the purity of the means, which,
by the laws of God and our nature, must be employed in
order to secure it. Even the interests of eternity become
distorted the moment they are looked at through the
medium of impure means. Scarcely had I written this,
when I was told by a person in the Treasury, that it is
intended to carry the Reform Bill by a new creation of
peers. If this be done, the constitution of England will
be destroyed, and the present Lord Chancellor, after
having contributed to murder it, may consistently enough
pronounce, in his place, its kloge funkbre I
I turn with pleasure to the sonnets you have addressed
to me, and if I did not read them with unqualified satisfac-
tion it was only from consciousness that I was unworthy
of the encomiums they bestowed upon me.
Among the papers I have lately been arranging are
passages that would prove, as forcibly as anything of
mine that has been published, you were not mistaken
I
478 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
in your supposition that it is the habit ci my mind
inseparably to connect loftiness of imagination with that
humility of mind which is best taught in Scripture.
Hoping that you will be indulgent to my silence, which
has been, from various causes, protracted contrary to my
wish.
Believe me to be, dear sir,
Very faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
DXLVIII
William Wordsworth to Correspondent Unknown
[No name or date,] [1831.]
My dear Sir,
On the other side see a list of errata^ some of which
are so important and so mischievous to the sense that I
beg they may be struck off instantly upon a slip of paper
or separate leaf, and inserted in such books as are not
yet dispersed. For one of these errata^ perhaps more,
I am answerable.
Tell Mr. Hine,^ to whom I wish to write as soon as I
can find time, that I think the collection judiciously made.
When you mentioned " notes," I was afraid of them, and
I regret much the one at the end was not suppressed ;
nor is that about the editorial nut-cracks happily exe-
cuted. But Mr. Hine is an original person, and there-
fore allowance must be made for his oddities. He feels
the poetry, and that is enough. His preface does him
great credit. _ , ,
Ever and most truly yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
1 Joseph Hine, the compiler of a volume of Selections from the
Poems 0/ William Wordsworth (1831). — Ed.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 479
DXLIX
William Wordsworth to Basil Montagu
[1831.]
. . . What you Londoners may think of public affairs
I know not; but I forebode the not very distant over-
throw of the Institutions under which this country has so
long prospered. The Liberals of our neighbourhood tell
me that the mind of the nation has outgrown its Institu-
tions; rather say, I reply, that it has shrunk and dwin-
dled from them, as the body of a sick man does from his
clothes.
We are on fire with zeal to educate the poor, which
would be all very well if that zeal did not blind us to
what we stand still more in need of, an improved educa-
tion of the middle and upper classes; which ought to
begin in our great Public Schools, thence ascend to the
Universities (from which the first suggestion should come),
and descend to the very nursery.
If the books from which your Selections'^ are made
were the favourite reading of men of rank and influence,
I should dread little from the discontented in any class.
But what hope is there of such a rally in our debilitated
intellects? The soundest hearts I meet with are, with
few exceptions, Americans. They seem to have a truer
sense of the benefits of our government than we ourselves
have. Farewell, with many thanks.
Yours faithfully,
W. W.
1 The volume was probably his Selections from the Works of
Taylor i Hooker ^ Hall, and Lord Bacon, with an Analysis of the
Advancement of Learning. — Ed.
48o WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DL
William Wordsworth to Christopher Wordsworth
[1831.]
My dear Brother,
... I have myself been moving about a good deal,
twice on business; it is lucky for me that my engage-
ments of that kind must of necessity lead me through a
beautiful country. Last Friday I was called to Ulverstone.
I went down the side of Coniston water; and returned
by Broughton up the Duddon, and over Wrynose. The
vale of Duddon I had never seen at this season, and was
much charmed with it. Most of the cottages are em-
bowered in fir trees mixed with sycamore, and in laurel,
which thrives luxuriantly in the sheltered vale, and at
this season is most pleasant to look upon. John ^ was
my companion ; we parted five miles up the Duddon, he
turning up over Birker Moor for Whitehaven. ...
What you tell us of Mr. Rose's * success as a preacher
is highly gratifying. He is a sincere, devout man, and, I
suppose, very industrious. How honourable is it to your
University that such crowds go to hear him ! He is out,
or you are out, about Laodamia. No stanza is omitted.*
The last but one is, however, substantially altered. I
have disliked the alteration; but I cannot bring my
mind to reject it. As first written * the heroine was dis-
missed to happiness in elysium. To what purpose then
^ Probably his son, although the poet had two nephews who were
named John. — Ed.
3 Hugh James Rose. — Ed.
' In the text of the edition of 1827. — Ed.
* In the edition of 18 15. — Ed.
TO CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH 48 1
the mission of Protesilaus ? He exhorts her to moderate
her passion, the exhortation is fruitless, and no punish-
ment follows. So it stood. At present^ she is placed
among unhappy ghosts for disregard of the exhortation.
Virgil also places her there; but compare the two pas-
sages, and give me your opinion. I have said any pun-
ishment, stopping short of the future world, would have
been reasonable; but not the melancholy one I have
imposed, as she was not a voluntary suicide. Who shall
decide, when doctors disagree } Do not let your etymo-
logical researches interfere with your fellowship stud-
ICO. • • •
Ever faithfully yours,
W. W.
DLI
William Wordsworth to John Kenyon
Saturday, [1831.]
My dear Sir,
It was taking no small liberty to entangle you and Mrs.
Kenyon in our little economical arrangements. I am
pleased, however, with having done so ; as it has been
the occasion of my hearing from you again. Your
eloquence, as the heart has so much to do in it, has
prevailed, and we will order a chaise to be here on
Wednesday next in time for our reaching Brighton by
five — perhaps earlier — but if the day prove fine I should
like to stop an hour at Lewes to look round me.
You seem to lead a dissipated life, you and Mrs. Ken-
yon ; but I have no right to reproach you. I have left
^ In the edition of 1827, and in all subsequent ones. — £d.
482 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
my brother's quiet fireside^ for the last two days to dine
with two several magistrates at Uckfield, where, of course,
I heard rather too much of obstinate juries (grand and
petty), burnings, poor rates, cash payments, and that
everlasting incubus of universal agricultural distress.
Five times have I dined while at Busted at the table
of an earl, and twice in the company of a prince.* There-
fore let you and Mrs. Kenyon prepare yourselves for
something stately and august in my deportment and
manners 1 But king, queen, prince, princess, dukes, etc,
are common articles at Brighton, so that I must descend
from my elevation, or pass for a downright Malvolio !
I congratulate you upon being ^^radicalized. I wish,
however, the change had taken place under less threaten-
ing circumstances. The idle practice of recrimination is
becoming general. The Whigs upbraid the Tories as
authors of the mischief which all feel, by withstanding
reform so obstinately ; and the Tories reproach the Whigs
with having done sdl the harm by incessant bawling for
ii>. ...
^ Dr. Christopher Wordsworth was rector of Buxted-with-Uckfield
from 1820 to 1846. — Ed.
3 There he met William the Fourth, and Queen Adelaide.— Ed.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH 483
1832
DLII
William Wordsworth to John Kenyon
Rydal Mount, 26th January, [1832.]
My dear Mr. Kenyon,
You have enriched my house by a very valuable pres-
ent, an entire collection of all that it is desirable to pos-
sess among Hogarth's prints. The box also contained a
quarto volume, Hogarth Illustrated^ and three volumes of
a French work for Mr. Southey, which shall be forwarded
to him. I have been thus particular as, because there
was no letter within the box, perhaps it was not made up
under your own eye, and I am now at a loss where to
direct to you.
We are great admirers of Hogarth, and there are per-
haps few houses to which such a collection would be
more welcome ; and living so much in the country, as we
all do, it is both gratifying and instructive to have such
scenes of London life to recur to, as this great master has
painted.
You are probably aware that he was of Westmorland
extraction. His name is very common hereabouts, and it
is amusing to speculate on what his genius might have
produced if, instead of being born and bred in London, —
whither his father went from Westmorland, — he had been
484 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
early impressed by the romantic scenery of this neigh-
bourhood, and had watched the manners and employ-
ments of our rustics. It is remarkable that his pictures,
differing in this from the Dutch and Flemish masters,
are almost exclusively confined to indoor scenes or city
life. Is this to be regretted } I cannot but think it is,
for he was a most admirable painter, as may be seen by
his works in the British Gallery ; and how pleasant would
it have been to have had him occasionally show his knowl-
edge of character, manners, and passion by groups under
the shade of trees, and by the side of waters, in appropri-
ate rural dresses. He reminds me both of Shakespeare and
Chaucer ; but these great poets seem happy in softening
and diversifying their views of life, as often as they can,
by metaphors and images from rural nature, or by shift-
ing the scene of action into the quiet of groves or forests.
What an exquisite piece of relief of this kind occurs in
T/t€ Merchant of Venice^ where, after the agitating trial
of Antonio, we have Lorenzo and Jessica sitting in the
open air on the bank on which the moonlight is sleeping
— but enough.
Since I last heard from you I have received, and care
fully read, with great pleasure, the poems of your friend
Baillie. The scenes among which they were written are
mainly unknown to me, for I never was farther south in
France than St. Valier on the Rhone, where I turned off
to the Grand Chartreuse, a glorious place. Were you
ever there ? I think you told me you were.
Mr. B. has, however, interested me very much in his
sketches of those countries, and strengthened the desire
I have had all my life to see them, particularly the Ro-
man antiquities there, which H. C. Robinson tells me are
greatly superior to any in Italy, a few in Rome excepted.
TO. JOHN KENYON 485
I do not know where Mr. Baillie is now to be addressed.
I beg, therefore, if you be in communication with him, or
with any of his friends who are, you would be so kind as
to have my thanks conveyed to him, both for his little
volume and the accompanying letter.
It is now time to say a word or two about ourselves.
We are all well, except my sister, who, you will be sorry
to hear, has been five weeks confined to her room by a
return of the inflammatory complaint which shattered her
constitution three years ago. She is, God be thanked,
convalescent, and will be able to take her place at our
fireside in a day or two, if she goes on as well as lately.
We long to know something about yourself, Mrs. Ken-
yon, and your brother. Pray write to us soon.
We have had a most charming winter for weather ;
Hastings could scarcely be warmer ; and as to beauty, the
situation of Rydal Mount at this season is matchless. I
shall direct to your brother-in-law's house, as the best
chance for my letter reaching you.
Farewell, and believe me, with every good wish.
Faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
DLHI
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Rydal Mount, Feb. 17th, 1832.
... As you have done me the honour of asking my
opinion on Lord H.'s ^ letter, I will give it without reserve.
. . . The facts upon which Lord H.'s proposal of compro-
mise is grounded are an increased majority in the Commons
iLord Holland. — Ed.
486 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
in favour of the bill, and a belief that the Ministers have
a carte blanche for creating Peers to carry it. . . . Is
it not in the power of any councillors having access to
the King to convince him not only of the ruinous tend-
ency of such a step, but to make him feel, as a point of
duty, that whatever power the forms of law may give him
to create Peers for setting aside their deliberate resolve,
the spirit of the Constitution allows him no right to do
so ? for the application of such power to particular emer-
gencies is subversive of the principle for which the Peers
mainly exist. Again, the Ministers opened the question
of reform with a most solemn declaration that it was a
measure indispensable for the preservation of the Consti-
tution, and adopted in order to preserve it. Yet for the
sake of carrying their bill they are prepared to destroy a
vital organ of that Constitution. A virtual destruction it
certainly would be ; for it would convert the House of
Lords into a mere slave of any succeeding Ministry,
which, should it not bend to threats, would immediately
create new votes to counterbalance the Opposition. Can-
not, then. Lord Grey and his coadjutors be brought — by
a respect for reason, or by a sense of shame from being
involved in such a contradiction and absurdity — to desist
from that course ? . . .
As to the alternative of compromise, I agree with Mr.
Southey in thinking that little is to be gained by it but
time for profiting by contingencies. Would the House of
Lords be sure of making such alterations in their com-
mittee as would render the bill much less mischievous?
or, if they should, would the Lower House pass the bill so
amended ? The manner in which the committee of the
Commons dealt with it is far from encouraging. . . .
Suppose, however, the bill to be much improved in passing
TO LORD LONSDALE 487
through the committee of the Lords, and accepted by
the Commons, how do we then stand ? We have a House
of Lords, not overwhelmed indeed by new members, but
in spirit broken, and brought down upon its knees. The
bill is passed, and Parliament, I presume, speedily dis-
solved ; for the agitators of the poUtical unions would
clamour for this, which neither the present Ministry,
nor any likely to succeed them, would resist, even did
they think it right to do so. Then comes a new House
of Commons, to what degree radical, under the best
possible modification of the present bill, one fears to
think. It proposes measures which the House of Lords
would resist as revolutionary, but dares not for fear of
being served in the way that was threatened to secure
the passing of the reform bill ; and so we hasten step by
step to the destruction of that Constitution in form, the
spirit of which had been destroyed before. . . .
If a new reform bill cannot be brought forward and
carried by a strong appeal to the sense, and not to the
passions, of the country, I think there is no rational
ground for hope. And here one is reminded of the folly
and the rashness, not to touch upon the injustice, of
creating such a gap in the old constituency as it is scarcely
possible to fill up without endangering the existence of
the State. Nevertheless, I cannot but think that the
country might still be preserved from revolution by a
more sane Ministry, which would undertake the question
of reform with prudence and sincerity, combining with
that measure wiser views in finance. . . .
It has ever been the habit of my mind to trust that
expediency will come out of fidelity to principles, rather
than to seek my principle of action in calculations of
expediency. ...
488 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DLIV
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
Rydal Mount, Feb. 24th, 1832.
My Lord,
. . . The ministers have declared over and over that
they will not abate a jot of the principle of the bill.
Through the whole of the debates in both houses, but
particularly in the Commons, there has been a confusion
between principle and the rules and measures of apply-
ing principle. The main or fundamental principle of this
bill is an assumed necessity for an increase of democratic
power in the legislature ; accordingly, the ministers have
resolved upon a sweeping destruction. This, which may
be called a rule, or subsidiary principle, has been applied
to the existing constituency in its three great branches, —
the Burgage Tenures, the Freemen, and the Freeholders.
What havoc has been made in the first we all know. The
second, the Freemen, were destroyed, and are restored.
Upon the third I cannot speak with the precision which
I could wish, not distinctly recollecting the manner in
which the votes of a portion of this body are to be
affected by the franchise conferred upon them as ;f 10
voters in towns, or retained as Freemen. None of this
class of voters have been deprived of their right of voting
without an equivalent, so that the change which time has
effected in making — by the reduction in the value of
money — the body of Freeholders so democratic, is left
in its full force, and made more dangerous by new cir-
cumstances. Now, is it to be expected that the Lords
in committee could succeed in a scheme for a less sweep-
ing and less unjust destruction of the old constituency?
Lord H. himself does not seem to expect it.
TO LORD LONSDALE 489
The only source, then, to which we can look for any
improvement must be in supplying the gap in a less
objectionable w^y. Numbers and property are the prin-
ciples here. In order to foresee how the Ministry are likely
to act, we must inquire how their power is composed.
They know themselves that if it were not for the reform
bill they must go out instantly. As constitutional Whigs,
supposed to be actuated by a sincere wish to preserve the
British Constitution, the leaders of them are already, as a
party, annihilated. They are the tools of men bent on the
destruction of Church and State. Even in their opinions
many who continue to call themselves Whigs are scarcely
by a shade distinguishable from the Radicals. But though
such is the character of so many of their prominent leaders,
there is diffused through the country a large body of Whig
partisans, who, could their eyes be opened, would cease to
support them, especially if they had hopes of a more moder-
ate measure from other quarters — but they are not likely
to be undeceived till too late. The Ministry, I repeat, are
under Radical dictation; does not the mere act of the
late appointment to the Secretaryship of War show it?
Still further to propitiate the political unions, Hume and
Warburton will follow him into office, who can say how
soon ? Whatever, therefore, the Ministry in conscience
think prudent and proper, they would not have the cour-
age to act upon it, even supposing, as Lord H. suggests,
that the more moderate men in the House, and those
who have the fear of a Radical Parliament hanging over
their heads, should support such improvement coming
from the Lords. The Ministry would act, as your Lord-
ship anticipates, by creating new peers, by seduction,
and, I lament to say, by intimidation, and encouraging
or conniving at agitation out of doors.
490 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
But to come to particulars. Could the ;^io franchise
be altered, or the delegation — for I will not call it repre-
sentation— from London and its neighbourhood? As
to the large towns all over the country, a worse source
for a new constituency than ;£'io voters, they do not—
in my judgment — contain. But, take smaller places, and
less populous districts. Mr. Senhouse thinks ;^io not a
bad qualification for Cumberland. Look then at Cocker-
mouth, and read Mr. Green's late advertisement. He
may be a man of poor talents, and sorry discretion, but
he is no stranger there. He was bom, bred, and has
long been a resident in the place. He may therefore
reasonably be supposed to be acquainted with the pres-
ent opinions and dispositions of the ;^io renters in that
town, to whom he would recommend himself, in the event
of the bill passing. He tells them '' that he has for many
years been reproached for being a Jacobin, a Radical,
and a Leveller" — unjustly, he insinuates, — that a reform
is wanted for making a great change in the present state
of things. " Do not, however, suppose," he adds, " that
I wish to see reform run into revolution. The conduct
of the King, forming as it does a glorious contrast to that
of most of the Sovereigns that for half a century have
appeared in Europe, has justly entitled him to the preserva-
tion of his crown, etc. The conduct of the Ministers,
too, who have aided and counselled him in his efforts for
the public good, must not be forgotten ; they all, or
nearly all, belong to — or are 'connected with — the hered-
itary aristocracy, and by their services have at once
entitled themselves to our gratitude," etc., etc. Now
what is all this but to say that the moment the king or
the aristocracy do not please Mr. G. and his future con-
stituents he will turn upon them, and, if he can, will
TO LORD LONSDALE 49 1
destroy the monarchy and peerage together. Judge, my
LfOrd, of my indignation when I read this trash — con-
temptible, were it not so pernicious in this emergency —
addressed to the inhabitants of my native town.
Now for the delegation of London, etc., with the vast
population there and in its neighbourhood, to back the
agitators whenever they shall choose to call upon it.
Can Lord H. expect that the Ministry would consent to
any improvement in this department? Yet nothing is
more clear to a sane mind than that the government by
King, Lords, and Commons, and not only government,
but property, in a state of society so artificial as ours,
cannot long stand up against such a pressure. When I
was in London last spring I mixed a good deal with the
Radicals, and know from themselves what their aims are,
and how they expect to accomplish them. One person
at least, now high in office, is looked up to as their future
head, and allowed at present to play a false part. It is
not rationally to be expected that the present ministry
would allow the delegation, as I have called it, of London
and its neighbourhood, to be of a less obnoxious con-
struction than the bill makes it.
Let us now look at the other side — the uncompromis-
ing resistance and its apprehended consequences in
swamping the House of Lords, and passing the bill in
its present state, not perhaps without popular commo-
tions. The risk attending such resistance with this or
any ministry not composed of firm-minded and truly
intelligent men is, I own, so great as to alarm any one ;
but I should have no fear of popular commotion were
the Government what it might be, and ought to be. The
overthrow of the government of Charles X, and the late
events in Bristol, prove what mischief may be done by a
1
492
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
mere rabble, if the executive be either faithless or foolish.
Seeing the perilous crisis to which we are come, I am
nevertheless persuaded that, could a conservative Minis-
try be established, the certain ruin that will follow on the
passing of this bill might be avoided. Thousands of
respectable people have supported both bills, not as
approving of a measure of this character or extent, but
from fear that otherwise no reform at all would take place.
Such men would be ready to support more moderate
plans if they found the executive in hands that could be
relied upon. Too true it is, no doubt, as Lord H. has
observed, that opinions as to the extent and nature of
advisable reform differ so widely as to throw great diffi-
culties in the way of a new bill. But these, in my hum-
ble opinion, might be got over, so far as to place us upon
ground allowing hope for the future.
In looking at the rule for applying the principle of
numbers to supply a part of the new constituency, or
govern the retention of the old, I have only considered
London and its neighbourhood. As far as I know, this
principle is altogether an innovation, and what contra-
dictions and anomalies does it involve? The Lords
would not probably attempt an improvement here. Had
such a rule come down to us from past times, had we
been habituated to it, it might have been possible to
improve its application. But how can any thinking man
expect that with the example of America and France
before us — not deterring the people, but inciting them
to imitation — this innovation can ever find rest but in
universal suffrage. Manchester is only to have two
members, with its vast population, and Cockermouth is
to retain one with its bare five thousand ! Will not Man-
chester and Birmingham, etc., point on the one hand to
TO LORD LONSDALE 493
•
the increased representation of London and its neighbour-
hood, and on the other to the small places which, for their
paltry numbers, are allowed to retain one or two votes in
the House; and to towns of the size of Kendal and White-
haven, which for the first time are to send each a mem-
ber ? Will Manchester and Birmingham be content ? Is
it reasonable that they should be content with the princi-
ple of numbers so unjustly and absurdly applied ? This
anomaly, which is ably treated in the American Review^
brings one to the character and tendency of this reform.
As Sir J. B. Walsh observes in his pamphlet, from
which I saw an extract the other day in a newspaper :
" Extensive, sudden, and experimental innovation is dia-
metrically opposed to the principle of progressiveness,
which in every art, science, and path of human intellect
is gradual. . . ."
. . . Our Constitution was not preconceived and
planned beforehand ; it grew under the protection of
Providence, as a skin grows to, with, and for the human
body. Our Ministers would flay this body, and present
us, instead of its natural skin, with a garment made to
order, which, if it be not rejected, will prove such a shirt
as, in the fable, drove Hercules to madness and self-
destruction. May God forgive that part of them who,
acting in this affair with their eyes open, have already
gone so far towards committing a greater political crime
than any recorded in history ! . . .
494 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DLV
William Wordsworth to the Editor of the
Philological Mtiseum
[Rydal Mount, 1832.]
. . . Your letter reminding me of an expectation I some
time since held out to you, of allowing some specimens of
my translation from the yEneid to be printed in the Philo-
logical Muscunty was not very acceptable; for I had
abandoned the thought of ever sending into the world
any part of that experiment — it was nothing more —
an experiment begun for amusement, and, I now think,
a less fortunate one than when I first named it to you.
Having been displeased, in modern translations, with the
additions of incongruous matter, I began to translate
with a resolve to keep clear of that fault, by adding
nothing ; but I became convinced that a spirited transla-
tion can scarcely be accomplished in the English language
without admitting a principle of compensation. On this
point, however, I do not wish to insist ; and merely send
the following passage, taken at random, from a desire to
comply with your request. . . .
W. W.
DLVI
William Wordsworth to Lord Lonsdale
^, -r , [1832.]
My Lord, ^ ^ ■'
Many thanks for your obliging letter. I shall be much
gratified if you happen to like my translation, and thank-
ful for any remarks with which you may honour me. I
TO LORD LONSDALE 495
have made so much progress with the second book that
I defer sending the former till that is finished. It takes
in many places a high tone of passion, which I would
gladly succeed in rendering. When I read Virgil in the
original I am moved; but not so much so by the transla-
tion ; and I cannot but think this is owing to a defect in
the diction, which I have endeavoured to supply, with
what success you will easily be enabled to judge.
Ever, my Lord,
Most faithfully your obliged friend and servant,
Wm. Wordsworth.
DLVII
William Wordsworth to Henry Taylor
[1832.]
. . . You are young, and therefore will naturally have
more hope of public affairs than I can. Seeing princi-
ples — which after all are the only things worth contend-
ing about — sacrificed every day, in a manner which I
have foreseen since the passing of the reform bill, and
indeed long before, does not the less disturb me. The
predominance given in Parliament to the dissenting
interest, and to towns which have grown up recently,
without a possibility of their being trained in habits of
attachment either to the Constitution in Church and
State, or what remained of the feudal frame of society in
this country, will inevitably bring on a political and social
revolution. What may be suffered by the existing gener-
ation no man can foresee, but the loss of liberty for a
time will be the inevitable consequence. Despotism will
be established, and the whole battle will have to be fought
over by subsequent generations. . , .
J
496 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DLVIII
William Wordsworth to Alaric Watts
[1832.]
My dear Sir,
I have to thank you, I presume, for a copy of The Sou-
venir for 1832, just received. ... I have been much
pleased with Mrs. Watts's Choice^ Mrs. Howitt's Infancy^
Youth^ and Age^ and your own Conversazione — a great
deal too clever for the subjects which you have here and
there condescended to handle. The rest of the volume
I shall hope to peruse at leisure. I fear the state of the
times must affect the annuals, as well as all other litera-
ture. I am told, indeed, that many of the booksellers are
threatened with ruin. I enclose a sonnet for your next
volume, if you choose to insert it. It would have ap-
peared with more advantage in this year's, but was not
written in time. It is proper I should mention that it
has been sent to Sir Walter Scott and one or two of my
other friends; so that you had best not print it till
towards the latter sheets of your volume, lest it should
steal by chance into publication, for which I have given
no permission. Should that happen I will send you some
other piece.
I remain, my dear sir.
Sincerely your obliged
Wm. Wordsworth.
TO JOHN GARDNER 497
DLIX
William Wordsworth to John Gardner
Rydal Mount, March 12th, [1832.]
The intended edition of my poems is to be compressed
into four volumes. There will be no additions beyond
what appeared in The Keepsake two or three years ago,
and a sonnet or two which have already seen the light.
... It is to be apprehended that the French edition
will still continue to injure the English sale.
I say nothing of politics. The foolish and wicked only
appear to be active, and therefore it is plain that confu-
sion and misery will follow. . . .
DLX
William Wordsworth to William Rowan Hamilton
Moresby, June 25, 1832.
. . . My dear sister has been languishing more than
seven months in a sick-room, nor dare I or any of her
friends entertain a hope that her strength will ever be
restored ; and the course of public affairs, as I think I
told you before, threatens, in my view, destruction to the
institutions of the country; an event which, whatever
may rise out of it hereafter, cannot but produce distress
and misery for two or three generations at least. At any
time I am at best but a poor and unpunctual correspond-
ent, yet I am pretty sure you would have heard from me
but for this reason ; therefore let the statement pass for
^n apology as far as you think fit. . . .
498 WILLIAM WORDSWORTfl
It gives me much pleasure that you and Coleridge have
met, and that you were not disappointed in the conversa-
tion of a man from whose writings you had previously
drawn so much delight and improvement. He and my
beloved sister are the two beings to whom my intellect is
most indebted, and they are now proceeding, as it were/jn
passu^ along the path of sickness — I will not say towards
the grave, but I trust towards a blessed immortality.
It was not my intention to write so seriously ; my heart is
full, and yoa must excuse it. You do not tell me how you like
Cambridge as a place, nor what you thought of its buildings
and other works of art. Did you not see Oxford as well ?
It has greatly the advantage over Cambridge in its happy
intermixture of streets, churches, and collegiate buildings.
... A fortnight ago I came hither to my son and
daughter, who are living a gentle, happy, quiet, and use-
ful life together. My daughter Dora is also with us. . . .
A week ago Mr. W. S. Landor, the poet and author of
Imaginary Conversations (which probably have fallen
in your way), appeared here. We had never met before,
though several letters had passed between us, and as I
had not heard that he was in England, my gratification
in seeing him was heightened by surprise. We passed
a day together at the house of my friend Mr. Rawson, on
the banks of Wast- Water. His conversation is lively and
original, his learning great, though he will not allow it,
and his laugh the heartiest I have heard for a long time.
It is, I think, not much less than twenty years since he
left England for France and afterwards Italy, where he
hopes to end his days, — nay, has fixed near Florence
upon the spot where he wishes to be buried.*
1 His grave is in the Protestant Cemetery at Florence, not far
from where Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Arthur Hugh Clough
were afterwards buried. — Ed.
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 499
DLXI
William Wordsworth to Henry Crabb Robinson
Rydal Mount, July 21st, [Postmark, 1832.]
My dear Friend,
We were truly glad to hear from you after so long a
silence. The ladies you mention are distant relations of
ours, and we should have been glad to serve them had it
been in our power. One of them wrote to my sister
above a year ago, and several letters passed between
them. Long after my sister had fallen ill, and only a few
weeks ago, Mrs. Wordsworth took up the correspondence,
and told them, in reply to a like request, that there were
no collections of pictures in this neighbourhood that she
was acquainted with save the Earl of Lonsdale's, which
by the bye is very small. Mrs. W. added such observa-
tions as she thought right upon the subject. Mr. Bolton,
of Storrs upon Windermere, has also some pictures,
and I am told that a Mr. Maucker of Liverpool, who
has lately settled near Ambleside, has also some good
ones, but I have never seen them. I regret not being able
to do an3rthing to further the views of these ladies. This
country holds out little temptation in their way. Should
it suit them to take a lodging at Bowness, there would be
no difficulty in getting access to Mr. Bolton's pictures;
nor, were the ladies at Ambleside, to Mr. Maucker's,
though I cannot say he is of my acquaintance. As to
the pictures at Lowther, they could only be copied by
some person staying in the house, there being no accom- .
modation for lodgers in the neighbourhood.
There used to be a few Claude's at Lord George Caven-
dish's (Holkar Hall), near Cartmell, not far from their
5CX:) WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
present abode ; and, as the family are seldom there, these
might easily be got at
You will grieve to hear that your invalid friend, my
dear sister, never quits her room but for a few minutes,
and we think is always weakened by the exertion. She
is, however, God be praised, in a contented and happy
state of mind. . . .
To my great surprise and pleasure Landor appeared at
Moresby near Whitehaven (having come by steam from
Liverpool), when I was on a visit there to my son. I fol-
lowed him to Wastdale, where I spent a day in the same
house with him. We went on through Borrowdale to Mr.
Southey^s. He appears to be a most warm-hearted man,
his conversation very animated, and he has the heartiest
and happiest laugh I ever heard from a man of his years.
You designate yourself "a conservative Whig." I
could not but smile at both substantive and adjective.
You and men of your opinions have piloted the vessel,
and navigated her into the breakers, where neither Whig
nor Tory can prevent her being dashed .to pieces. I
shall look out for the quietest nook I can find in the cen-
ter of Austria, where I shall be glad to give you welcome
to a crust when you shall be tired of improving a thank-
less world.
You would observe that a cheap edition of my poems
is advertised in four volumes. Help the sale, if you can,
till I get back my own money, which I shall have to ad-
vance to the amount of four or five hundred pounds. My
terms of publication are two thirds of the risk and expense
for what the publisher calls two thirds of the profit —
but this if I recollect right I told you before.
Yesterday I was on the top of Helvellyn with my friend
Mr. Julius Hare of Trinity College, Dr. Arnold, Master
TO HENRY CRABB ROBINSON 501
of Rugby, — as keen a reformer as yourself, or any other
dissenting Tory, — and Mr. Hamilton, author of Cyril
Thornton^ etc., etc., also a brother of Professor Buckland.
We tempered our brandy with water from the highest,
and we will therefore infer the purest, spring in England,
and had as pleasant a day as any middle-aged gentlemen
need wish for, except for certain sad recollections that
weighed upon my heart. Once I was upon this summit
with Sir Humphry Davy and Sir Walter Scott ; and many
times have I trod it with my nearest and dearest rela-
tives and friends, several of whom are gone — and others
going — to their last abode. But I have touched upon
too melancholy a string. Life is at best but a dream, and
in times of political commotion it is too often crowded
with ghostly images. God preserve us all I
Affectionately yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
DLXn
William Wordsworth to Edward Moxon
1 2th September, 1832.
Dear Mr. Moxon,
Mr. Pickersgill is the bearer of this to London. He
has been here painting my portrait. We all like it exceed-
ingly, so far as it is carried. It will be finished in Lon-
don. Should you wish to see it in its present state, you
can call at his house. . . .
My sister does not recover strength. . . .
W. Wordsworth,
502 DORA WORDSWORTH
DLXIII
William Wordsworth to Thomas Arnold
Rydal Mount, Tuesday, Sept 19th, 1832.
My dear Sir,
Yesterday Mr. Greenwood of Grasmere called, with a
letter he had just received from Mr. Simpson — r the owner
of Fox How — empowering Mr. G. to sign for him an agree-
ment, either with yourself or any friend you may appoint,
for the sale of that estate for ;^8oo ; possession to be
given, and the money paid, next Candlemas. ... I need
not say that it will give me pleasure to facilitate the pur-
chase, as far as is in my power. . . .
Faithfully yours,
William Wordsworth.
DLXIV
Dora Wordsworth to Mrs, Lawrence^
Rydal Mount, Sept. 27th, 1832.
My dear Madam,
My father bids me say that he has great pleasure in
sending you Yarrow Revisited for your own portfolio. I
have also added to this poem a sonnet (which we think
very fine) written at the same time. Now that the great
Light which called forth these lines is extinguished, per-
haps I had done better not to have transcribed them, as
they can only fill you with melancholy ; but yet when we
consider the state of mind in which Sir Walter must have
1 Wife of Charles Lawrence, Wavertree Hall, near Liverpool. — Ed.
TO MRS. LAWRENCE 503
been left, had his bodily health recovered its tone, we
ought only to rejoice in his " release." This is the word
Mr. Lockhart made use of in the note which informed us
of his father-in-law's death.
You are most kindly interested in our picture, and will
rejoice, I am sure, to hear that we, and all I think who
have seen the portrait, consider it as a likeness perfect,
and as a picture, so far as it is done, delightful ; but I will
send a sonnet by the poet himself on the picture which
tells everything.
Only the face is finished, and the figure just rubbed in.
He is placed on, or rather reclining upon, a rock on his
own, terrace with his cloak thrown over him, and a sweet
view of Rydal Lake in the distance. The attitude is
particularly easy, and the whole thing perfectly free from
anything like affectation. Mr. Pickersgill arrived the
evening of the day on which we parted from you at Storrs,
and remained with us ten days, and ten more pleasant
days were never passed. The garret was our studio, our
lowly cottage not affording a light sufficiently high for a
painter in any other corner. And here we received all
our company, whomsoever they might be, Mr. Pickersgill
not caring how full the room was. He too, when you
know him, is a most interesting person, so completely
wrapped up in his pictures. And you may well imagine
how grateful we feel to him for giving us such a picture
of such a father. But enough; I am forgetting that
every one cannot care about this said poet quite as much
as his daughter does. We hope, indeed we feel all but
sure, there will be a print from this picture, at least if
about a hundred and fifty names can be procured (of
which there can be no doubt, I think). Just to secure
the engraver and publisher, the subscription is a guinea.
504 DORA WORDSWORTH
Our good friend Mr. Bolton was the only fault-finder
of among upwards of a hundred persons who saw it
He said they had made him "too quiet," "too poetical";
he would have liked him " more animated." These
faults I consider the charm of the picture. There is
quite an angelic sweetness of expression with deep and
quiet and happy thought. My aunt, Miss Wordsworth,
is pretty well, but on the whole I fear I must not say
better. Mr. Pickersgill I do think considered himsetf
quite repaid for the loss of time in coming down by the
pleasure which his picture gave to our dear invalids We
can never hope that she will see it in its finished state.
I feel as if I ought to apologize for troubling you with so
long a letter, but that would only add to its length.
Trusting therefore to your kind nature to forgive me for
love of my father's muse,
I remain, my dear madam.
Yours very sincerely and much obliged,
Dora Wordsworth.
DLXV
Dora Wordsworth to William Pearson
^ ,^ Rydal Mount, Nov. i8th, 1832.
Dear Mr. Pearson,
Many thanks for your most interesting letter, which
gave great pleasure at Rydal Mount, especially in our
sick chamber. You know what a lover my dear aunt
is, both of animate and inanimate Nature, and now that
she is compelled to rest content with enjo3dng her at
second-hand, you may guess how pleasant your little his-
tory of our favourite robin-redbreast was to her subdued
but cheerful spirit ; and so simply and prettily told I My
TO WILLIAM PEARSON 505
father wishes for your permission (if you can give it),
should an opportunity occur, to send it to the Naturalisfs
Magazine^ or some other publication that receives like
histories. . . .
Now that all the birds of passage have left our moun-
tain regions we are but seldom interrupted by strangers,
so my father hopes you will find your way more fre-
quently to Rydal Mount, for it will be ill luck, indeed, if
you do not find him at this season at, or near, home.
He and my mother and I passed the week before last
with our friends, the Marshalls, at Halsteads on UUs-
water. The weather was generally very fine, so that the
noble scenery was looking its very best, and made me, I
confess, a little jealous for our vales, certainly less grand
as a whole, though perhaps, in their minutice, they may
vie with those of Ullswater.
Have you seen the first numbers of Mr. Hartley Cole-
ridge's book, The Worthies of Yorkshire and Lancashire ?
It was lent to us the other day. I have, as yet, but just
peeped into it; but it seems well worth reading, as all
that comes from his pen must be. It grieves one to
think that so fine a mind should turn to so little account
as his has done, and I fear will do; but genius, and
commonplace industry and regularity, seem almost in-
compatible. ... I have given you so long a family
history that it needs some apology. I think I am
unskillful in escaping from such snares. I will at any
rate keep clear of making others for myself by bringing
my epistle at once to a conclusion, and begging you to
accept the kind regards of all this family,
Believe me to remain.
Yours very truly,
Dora Wordsworth.
5o6 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
DLXVI
William Wordsworth to Lady Frederick Bentinck
[1832?]
. . . You were not mistaken in supposing that the
state of public affairs has troubled me much. I cannot
see how the government is to be carried on, but by such
sacrifices to the democracy as will, sooner or later, upset
everything. Whoever governs, it will be by out-bidding for
popular favour those who went before them. Sir Robert
Peel was obliged to give way in his government to the
spirit of reform, as it is falsely called; these men are
going beyond him ; and if ever he shall come back, it
will only, I fear, be to carry on the movement in a shape
somewhat less objectionable than it will take from the
Whigs. In the meanwhile the Radicals, or Republicans,
are. cunningly content to have this work done ostensibly
by the Whigs, while in fact they themselves are the Whigs'
masters, as the Whigs well know ; but they hope to be pre-
served from destruction by throwing themselves back upon
the Tories when measures shall be urged upon them by
their masters which they may think too desperate. What
I am most afraid of is alterations in the constituency and
in the duration of Parliament, which will bring it more and
more under the dominion of the lower and lowest classes.
On this account I fear the proposed corporation reform,
as a step towards household suffrage, vote by ballot, etc.
As to a union of the Tories and Whigs in Parliament, I
see no prospect of it whatever. To the great Whig lords
may be truly applied the expression in Macbeth^
They have eaten of the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner.
TO MRS. HEMANS 507
... I ordered two copies of my new volume to be
sent to Cottesmere. And now farewell ; and believe me,
dear Lady Frederick,
Ever faithfully yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
DLXVII
William Wordsworth to Mrs, Hemans
Rydal Mount, Nov. 22, [1832.]
Dear Mrs. Hemans,
I will not render this sheet more valueless than at
best it will prove, by tedious apologies for not answering
your very kind and welcome letter long and long ago. I
received it in London, when my mind was in a most
uneasy state, and when my eyes were useless both for
writing and reading, so that an immediate reply was out
of my power; and, since, I have been doubtful where to
address you. Accept this, and something better, as my
excuse, that I have very often thought of you with kind-
ness and good wishes for your welfare, and that of your
fine boys, who must recommend themselves to all that
come in their way. Let me thank you in Dora's name
for your present of The Remains of Lucretia Davidson^ a
very extraordinary young creature, of whom I had before
read some account in Mr. Southey's review of this volume.
Surely many things, not often bestowed, must concur to
make genius an enviable gift. This truth is painfully
forced upon one's attention in reading the effusions and
story of this enthusiast, hurried to her grave so early.
You have, I understand, been a good deal in Dublin.
The place, I hope, has less of the fever of intellectual, or
5o8 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
rather literary, ambition than Edinburgh, and is less dis-
quieted by factions and cabals of persons. As to those
of parties, they must be odious and dreadful enough ; but
since they have more to do with religion, the adherents
of the different creeds perhaps mingle little together, and
so the mischief to social intercourse, though great, will
be somewhat less.
I am not sure but that Miss Jewsbury has judged well
in her determination of going to India. Europe is at
present a melancholy spectacle, and these two Islands
are likely to reap the fruit of their own folly and madness
in becoming, for the present generation, the two most
unquiet and miserable spots upon the earth. May you,
my dear friend, find the advantage of the poetic spirit in
raising you, in thought at least, above the contentious
clouds ! Never before did I feel such reason to be
grateful for what little inspiration heaven has graciously
bestowed upon my humble intellect. What you kindly
wrote upon the mterest you took during your travels in
my verses could not but be grateful to me, because your
own show that in a rare degree you understand and sym-
pathise with me. We are all well, God be thanked. I
am a wretched correspondent, as this scrawl abundantly
shows. I know also that you have far too much, both of
receiving and writing letters, but I cannot cc^nclude with-
out expressing a wish that from time to time you would
let us hear from you and yours, and how you prosper.
All join with me in kindest remembrance to yourself and
your boys, especially to Charles, of whom we know most
Believe me, dear Mrs. Hemans, not the less for my long
silence,
Faithfully and affectionately yours,
Wm. Wordsworth.
TO WILLIAM PEARSON 509
DLXVIII
William Wordsworth to William Pearson
Advice as to Travel on the Continent
Mr, Wordsworth's Instructions
... At Mayence turn from the Rhine to Frankfort,
Darmstadt, Heidelberg, by Carlsruhe to Baden-Baden,
Strasburg, then by Hornberg or Freiburg to Schaffhausen,
see falls of the Rhine, then to Zurich, Wallenstadt lake, up
the valley of Glarus, Altorf, Schwytz, Mt. Righi, Lucerne,
Lake of Four Cantons, up the banks of the Reuss, over
Mt. St. Gothard to Lake Maggiore, Boromean Islands,
Lake Lugano, thence to Lake Como (which seq perfectly),
Varese, Lake Orta, Domo d'Ossola (see religious stations
and cells), over the mountain to Brieg in the Valais, turn
off to Gemmi Pass, to Kander Grund and Lakes of Thun
and Brienz, up the valley of Oberhasli, see falls of the
Handec at Meyringen, thence to Lungern Zee, Samen, to
Berne and Geneva by any way most promising, make
the tour round the Lake of Geneva, see Chamouny, see
as many of the passes as you can. . . .
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